Plugsuits
by Andrew Joshua Talon
Summary: Definitely not your average selfinsert fic... In that the bad SIs are killed by our heroes. C'mon... You know you're curious...
1. Chapter 1

_Allright! Here's the new, revised beginning of "Plugsuits", originally named "Does the Plugsuit Make Me Look Fat?" changed because it's a much cooler name. Besides, it's kind of a reference to "Scrubs", which goes with my whole semi-serious story concept. _

_In any event, here we go! Again!_

- - - - - - - -

**Plugsuits**

An Evangelion fanfiction by Andrew Joshua Talon

- - - - - - - -

The dark office of Commander Gendo Ikari was not a place for the faint of heart. The fate of every last man, woman and child on the planet were gambled with on a daily basis in this very room. By a man so consumed with his own goals, his ultimate desire, that anything remotely resembling sanity had passed on long ago from his thought processes.

At the moment, said madman was slumped over his intimidating desk, his eyes wide behind his dark glasses in utter disbelief.

"You can't be serious." Fuyutsuki shook his head, sighed, and stared at the back of the holoscreen before his boss/former student. The man on the other end of the communications link gulped nervously.

"_No sir… It's an Eva, all right. It doesn't match anything in our records though… Nor does the pilot. We're getting a definite blue reading from it though."_ Gendo shook his head slowly, sitting up.

"From the Eva, or the pilot?"

"_Uhhh…"_ Gendo sighed.

"Well?"

"_It appears to be coming from both, sir."_

"Understood. Go to full alert. Target is to be considered… Considered the Eighteenth Angel." The man saluted, as the holowindow winked out. Fuytusuki shook his head.

"Ikari? Exactly what the hell do you think you're doing?" Gendo did not answer, instead bringing up another holowindow. This one showed a huge, bizarrely-armored Evangelion. It's elaborate helmet echoed an old Pre-Impact anime, what was it… Gundam? The long, golden-V fins on it's brow over it's brightly glowing green eyes made it look the part perfectly. It's long, bird-like wings made it resemble old depictions of the beings they had been fighting for more than a year. It's large, wicked looking rifle and sword were not encouraging signs.

"Sensei, exactly what else are we supposed to do?" Gendo shook his head. "It reads as a Blue pattern-lifeform… An Angel."

"Like the Seventeenth, then? Humanoid?" Asked Fuyutusuki incredulously. "The Scrolls said that no more Messengers were coming!"

"Indeed," Gendo noted, the holowindow dissolving into static as the colorful Eva destroyed it. The phone on his desk began ringing loudly, and the gloved man answered it carefully.

"Yes… No, we have no idea where it came from… It seems to be an Angel. Until we have more data indicating otherwise, that's what we're classifying it as… Yes, I know it's not listed in the scrolls you moron! Tell those damned fools that wherever this thing came from, it certainly wasn't from us!" He slammed the phone back in it's cradle, just as the Angel alarms began to go off. He gritted his teeth and looked to Fuyutsuki.

"Sensei, gather the First Child and the Major, immediately. Have Section 2 arrest them. Find me the Third!" Fuyutsuki shook his head in disbelief.

"NOW!" Gendo practically screamed, his eyes widened frighteningly. Fuyutsuki turned and headed out the door quickly, opening up his cellphone and dialing the needed numbers. Despite the approach of yet another monstrous creature destined to try and destroy them all, the old man couldn't help but smirk slightly.

_So much for the scenario, eh Gendo?_

- - - - - - -

It was just one of hundreds of dark corridors throughout NERV. The original base had been designed to accommodate a much larger staff, but due to budget cuts and combat experience the extra personnel for these areas was absent.

It was here that Shinji Ikari, the Third Child, could be found, sitting against the wall. His sea blue eyes were focused on the floor in front of him, unseeing and blank. The grief, the horror… Everything that had happened to him over the course of this year had finally crushed him under it's strength-sapping weight. There was nothing left to him, as far as Shinji was concerned.

Nothing left of anything…

"Pilot Ikari." Shinji looked up from the floor, staring up at his father. The alarm klaxons had been going off for a while now, but he hadn't noticed. Nor had he cared. The image of Kaoru's peaceful face, his body held in the hand of his Eva just before he crushed him, was overlapping anything else he could see.

"Pilot Ikari," his father repeated, looking down on Shinji with a mixture of disgust and anxiety. "You will go to Unit 01 immediately." Shinji just stared at him, silent.

"Another Angel has appeared," Commander Ikari got out, and Shinji at last noticed the fear in his father's eyes. He'd never seen it before, not in him…

_CRACK!_ Shinji rubbed his cheek, feeling dazed. The commander drew his hand back, breathing hard now.

"Goddamnit, get up and go fight! Now!" Shinji, shaking now, looked back at his father. He at last saw the man, not the cold figure using and killing people without remorse.

Fear was in his eyes now. Anger, disbelief, horror...

Shinji didn't know what to make of it. His father looked trapped, his eyes wide behind the tinted glasses, his fists clenched. Gendo turned away, shaking visibly.

"Bring them," he said flatly. Shinji's eyes widened as Misato and Rei both appeared behind the commander, guns held to their heads by Section-2 agents. Gendo turned back and glared at his son.

"You will get up and pilot, or I will kill them both. And it will be your fault." Gendo pushed his glasses up his nose, his face shiny with sweat. "Unlike those other incidents you take the blame for in your pitiful selfishness, this will truly be on your head, and no one elses." Gendo and Shinji's eyes met.

"Can you live with that, Pilot Ikari?"

A second passing seemed like an eternity… Before Shinji stood up, holding his father's gaze, and walking past him, past the gagged Rei and Misato. Misato's eyes, widened in concern and fear, followed him. Rei's own ruby eyes trailed him as well, and Shinji was sure he could see fear in them, just as in Misato's.

Human fear.

- - - - - - - - -

The Sixth Child, Neji Bond Husugawa, felt a deep sense of confusion as the conventional defenses of NERV opened fire on him. His AT Field was extended, taking the shots without serious effort, but the situation should not have existed in the first place.

_What's going on? I should be welcomed with open arms! Not attacked! What's going on?_

He had little time to ponder the circumstances further, when his proximity sensors went off. He turned and saw that Evangelion Unit Zero One was rising from an elevator, it's yellow eyes glowing demonically.

"Shinji Ikari, stand down! I'm an Eva pilot! Just like you! I'm here to help!" Husugawa expressed in his deep, manly voice. Unit One didn't respond, just standing there, staring at him. Husugawa tried a different tact.

"Shinji, I can help Asuka. I can help everyone here! Please, respond!" Unit Zero One let loose a terrifying roar, and charged at impossible speeds. Husugawa scowled and raised his beam rifle.

_Oh well, not as if I needed him,_ he thought spitefully, and fired. The rifle released a massive burst of energy, consuming the purples Eva in a fiery explosion. Husugawa smirked, the flames still burning from his shot.

"Ha… Guess you should have run away, huh Ikari?" He taunted the dead child… Just before a huge shape emerged from the flames and lunged for him.

"What the _hell!"_ Husugawa screeched, taking to the air and barely avoiding the Eva's attack. He hovered overhead, preparing to fire another shot.

"_Are you here to kill me, huh?"_ Snarled a voice over the radio. It took a moment for Husugawa to recognize it, the tone foreign to him but the speaker familiar.

"Shinji!"

"_Are you! Are you here to kill me for Kaoru's death?"_ Shinji demanded. Unit One leapt, it's arms reaching for the Eva. Nimbly it evaded, as Husugawa gawped in shock.

"What! No! I'm not an Angel! I'm a pilot!"

"_No, you're not!"_ Shinji shouted. "_You're a liar! Just like Kaoru, and my father, and EVERYONE ELSE!"_ Unit One leapt again, it's teeth and hands sinking into one of Husugawa's wings. He screamed at the feedback, his incredibly high synch ratio causing intense agony.

"NO! STOP! THIS IS ALL WRONG! YOU'RE JUST A SPINELESS WIMP! YOU'RE NOTHING!" Husugawa shouted, pounding his fist against the side of the purple Eva's head furiously. He fired his head Vulcan cannons, tried shaking him off, but Shinji would not let go.

"_Maybe I am! Maybe I am nothing! But at least I can take you down with me!"_ Shinji pulled back and slammed a fist into Husugawa's Unit's face, giving the pilot whiplash from the contact. Shinji pulled back and punched again, and again, and again, not noticing when they struck the ground, or the impact of that event. All he could see was the Angel, his enemy, underneath him.

"NOT A CHANCE, ASSHOLE!" Husugawa released his AT Field, blasting Shinji over a hundred meters away. He leapt up and lunged after him, wrapping his unit's hands around Unit One's throat. Unit One thrashed about violently, the two biomechs tumbling and rolling about the Tokyo-3 countryside, punching, kicking and clawing at eachother.

_This can't be happening…! I can't be losing!_ Husugawa thought frantically, tightening his grip on his enemy's throat. All it did was make the Eva angrier, tearing off Husugawa's wings with a chilling roar.

"AAAUUUUUGHHHHHH!" Husugawa, abandoning all pretense, lifted Unit One over his head and threw it into a skyscraper, completely crushing it in a huge cloud of dust. He leapt after Unit Zero One, drawing his beam saber to make a killing blow.

"So long, Third! You're just a failure anyway," he cackled, spotting an Eva-shaped object in the debris field. He lunged, cried out in victory… Only to find his beam saber imbedded in a large chunk of the devastated skyscraper.

"What the…?" Husugawa felt impossibly strong hands grab his chin from behind and over his head, and yank. He felt his head moving back, his tendons and bones beginning to strain.

"No! NO! NOT LIKE-AUGH!" Shinji was beyond pain, beyond rage. All that there was, pounding in his ears to his heartbeat, was a simple mantra.

_I won't fail them… I won't fail them… I WON'T FAIL THEM… I WON'T FAIL THEM…_

"I WON'T FAIL THEM!" Shinji screamed, as the head of the Eva was torn clear off with sickeningly wet crunch. Shinji ripped off the Eva's arms next, then tore apart it's back, torso, and groin. It threw the remains of the Angel's Eva into the air, covering itself in it's blood, before bellowing a battle cry into the night.

On a small hillside overlooking the city, a lone figure watched the battle… And warked.

- - - - - - - - -

"This new Angel appeared with no regard to the scrolls, Ikari," SEELE 03 intoned flatly, it's dark pillar seeming more sinister than theprevious times Gendo had seen it.

"It did not follow any prophecy… _Anywhere,"_ SEELE 01 emphasized. "And yet, you are sure it was an Angel?"

"The autopsy confirmed the presence of an S2 organ," Gendo answered truthfully. Deception in a case like this was pointless. It was odd to be on an almost level playing field with the old men, he reflected, before SEELE 05 stated:

"This deviation in the scenario… Instrumentality is in danger." A chorus of agreement echoed in the room at large. Gendo stood, his fists still clenched but his voice even.

"Instrumentality has always been in danger," Gendo posed flatly. "From the Angels themselves, and human interference. It is clear that this event cannot be human in origin."

"Of course… No human could steal an Evangelion!" SEELE 08 declared.

"The biggest question remains: Have the scrolls been disproven? Are our goals for naught?" SEELE 06 asked. The other members gasped in horror.

"Naught? Impossible!"

"Blasphemy!"

"It cannot be true!"

"SILENCE!" SEELE 01 roared, and the room complied. "It is clear that the scenario has been completely altered. There are too many unknowns now. What we do know, is that the Angels apparently had one more messenger to send."

"Just one? Like that? And for what purpose? Our trials were over!" SEELE 02 protested. SEELE 01 sighed.

"It is altogether possible that those were only the first of our trials… A first wave, as it were. God may not be as dead as we thought." A number of gasps filled the room once more.

"If God's will has returned, then that means-!" SEELE 04 began, but was silence by SEELE 01.

"It means, that we must continue to fight. Even if the Almighty has returned, His power over this world is diminished. So diminished, that we may yet fulfill our destiny."

"But, is our destiny not to follow God's will?" Asked SEELE 04. "If we continue towards Instrumentality, as God continues to try and thwart us, will we not be damning ourselves?"

"Ultimately, Instrumentality is Man's final form. It cannot be changed. All that can be done at this point, is to prove to the Almighty that we are ready. With this in mind… Ikari will continue to lead NERV against the Angels." SEELE 01 produced a holowindow of what appeared to be a military base in an isolated valley near a lake.

"NERV2 has reappeared… Initial reports indicate that Unit Four survived, as did it's pilot. He will be transferred as soon as possible to NERV1 to strengthen our defenses. However, Ikari… Regard this as a chance to betray us… And your life is forfeit."

"Of course," Gendo replied flatly, as the room went dark. He heaved a great sigh, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Yui… How much longer…?"

- - - - - - - - -

The small police cruiser had been sitting in the same place since daybreak. As military vehicles and aircraft poured into the area beyond the ridge, the car's two occupants, a man and a woman, observed the scene with what appeared to be passing interest.

"So, they're all back then?" The woman asked the man.

"Yes. Though not unscathed… He's currently being evaluated."

"He'll be re-qualified. As long as his heart's still there, he'll keep it up…" The woman leaned back a bit, sighing heavily.

"The ball's back in our court, I should think, right?"

"Yes, it is," the man answered quietly.

"Then why don't I feel like celebrating?"

"Because you can never return to your son or husband… At least, not until all this is over," the man answered bluntly. The woman smiled sadly.

"Until this is over…"

- - - - - - - - -

_Next time… The real Sixth Child comes to Japan… Try not to roll your eyes too much for this one, okay?_


	2. Chapter 2

- - - - - - -

I try to concentrate on the pieces of paper in my lap over the roar of the VTOL's engines as we soar over the Pacific Ocean to Tokyo 3. I want to memorize these files before we land at our destination.

They were all of what I had left of my parents, after all.

The profiles are for the both of them; birthdates, height/weight statistics, psychological profiles, blood types, eye and hair color, and causes and dates of death. That's all it is. Nothing of what my mom cooked for me when I was little, or what my dad and I did together in our off time.

Maybe it's better that way. A soldier can better focus on his duty when not weighted down by memories of a home and parents long gone.

It's hard, but I manage to memorize the files just as we soar over the Tokyo 3 skyline to land at the NERV helipad. As we land in short order at the airport, I see a purple-haired woman flanked by a boy and a girl standing just in front of a blue Alpine.

They approach as I step down from the VTOL, and the woman snaps a salute on my approach, the two bars on her collar denoting her as a Major glittering in the sunlight.

I salute in kind. "Second Lieutenant Andrew Stewart, reporting for duty, Major," I say in halting Japanese. The language doesn't come easy to me.

"Welcome to Tokyo 3, Lieutenant," she says in English, finishing her salute, "I trust your trip was comfortable?"

"No less comfortable than any other trip I have taken in a VTOL, sir."

"A diplomatic answer – good," she laughs, "and don't call me sir or miss. Call me Misato, or Major if you're feeling formal."

She then turns to the children behind her and announces in Japanese, "This is Andrew Joshua Stewart, of the United States Air Force. He will be piloting Unit 04 with us."

"Nice to meet you," the girl says quietly. I recognize her as Rei Ayanami, first Child and former pilot of Unit 00. Two kills. Miraculously survived the infiltration of her Eva when an Angel infiltrated it, proving her resourcefulness. That and her ability to stay calm in dangerous situations will be an asset to the group…should she have another Eva to pilot.

"Uh… hi," the boy says, looking as if he didn't know if was supposed to shake my hand, wave, or salute. I recognize him as Shinji Ikari, third Child and pilot of Unit 01. Eight solo kills. An impressive record, a testament to Ikari's innate skill. In the face of adversity, however, innate skill and luck will only fly so far. Training and focus are needed as well. Moreover, Unit 01 has a tendency to go berserk. How long will it be before it turns against the very people it's supposed to protect? Ikari needs to learn to reign in his Eva, or else all will be lost.

"It is a privilege to meet both of you," I say, giving them a formal bow. "I look forward to working alongside you."

Major Katsuragi smiles. "Now that that's over with, shall we get a move on?" She says while moving towards the driver's side of the car. After she gets in, I observe the other pilots.

Ikari looks at me, waiting for me to go first, I suppose. When I don't, he sighs and moves to the seat behind the front passenger seat. Ayanami then moves to the other side and takes the seat behind the Major.

Interesting. It appears that Ikari defers to anyone but himself. After he makes a decision, Ayanami follows him. It appears the dynamics of teamwork have already been established somewhat by the angel battles.

I get in the front passenger seat, automatically caressing the soft leather that covers the seat. Such amenities are rare in the United States after Second Impact, from what I gather.

Major Katsuragi accelerates out of the airport at velocities that feel comparable to the F-16s, making me wonder if putting the Major behind a wheel is a good thing or not. Or perhaps it is a one time thing.

The Major and the two other pilots are nonplussed at the dangerous speeds. "So," the Major says, "since this is your first day in Tokyo 3 and since we're off duty… what do you wanna eat?"

"Sorry Maj – err, Misato, but can I take a rain check?"

She looks over at me in astonishment, nearly causing a rear-end collision with a semi-truck. "What! You're mussing out on some of the most delicious dining in Japan… for what?"

I swallow dryly. "Actually, I wanted to report for duty in front of the commander."

In an instant her voice changes from lively to lifeless. "Oh," is all she says.

For an instant, I wonder if I've hit a social gaffe. "It _is_ military protocol to report to the highest ranking commander first. In fact, why wasn't he with you when I arrived?"

"Because he's a bastard," Ikari replies viciously behind me. I turned to see him propping his chin in his palm, watching the city blocks blur by him.

"Yeah," Major Katsuragi agrees with undisguised contempt. "He'll do anything to further his own agenda – whatever that may be,"

I hear Ayanami comment softly behind the Major, "To him, we are all expendable… and can be replaced at a moment's notice."

I am astounded. Naturally I had read the report on the Commander of NERV and found it lacking, but even his subordinates find him despicable. One happens to be his only child, and the other happens to be one that he had raised as his child.

For the head of an organization that defends the world, he is in a precarious position.

I decide to probe further. If I have a meeting with this man, I need to find out all I can about him. "Would you say he's the most disliked individual in NERV?"

Major Katsuargi chuckles and forcefully jams on the brake, making us choke on the restraints as the light changed from yellow to red. "Oh yeah, he's up there. But there's a runner's up for that spot, too."

Despite my curiosity for the Commander, I had to ask. "And who would that be?"

A tap by my head causes me to turn around, and I see a black-gloved knuckle remove itself from the window to reveal…darkness.

It was the only way I could describe him at first. Black gloves, black leather jacket, black jeans, black Yamaha motorcycle, black helmet. The motorcyclist had a penchant for black.

In the middle of the street, he kicks down the kickstand, and then removes his helmet to reveal dark, neck-length locks of hair and ashen colored eyes. His expression tells me that he recognizes me, but I cannot recall his face or his name.

But Major Katsuragi growls in recognition after rolling down the window. "Pilot Yoshi Yamamoto," she says maliciously, "you were ordered to ride with us and meet the new pilot!"

"Sorry Misato," the motorcyclist says apologetically, though his ivory smile cast into doubt his sincerity, "I had company over and I just couldn't turn away. Of course, you and Rei are always welcome to ditch these two losers and join us."

"Why would they want to interrupt you when you have guests over?" I ask.

His eyes narrow when he looks at me. "Lieutenant Stewart, sixth child. I've read up on you. Stuck in that Sea of Dirac for a year, weren't ya?"

It was if the cold night sky had decided to congeal in my stomach. "Yes."

His gaze seems to drill through to the back of my skull. "Do you remember anything?"

At the question, my mind automatically reaches into the farthest memory that I can recall… and it hits a proverbial brick wall at the first day I awaken to an unfamiliar ceiling and a foreign world with my mind filled with nothing but military tactics and stratagems.

"No," I say honestly.

His face is a semblance of pity. "Aw, well, that's too bad, eh? So young and lost some of your marbles already. Well, you're not gonna be on the front lines, because we'll protect ya, kid." At that, he reaches over to pat me on the head –

And nearly yanks my head off as he grabs me by my hair and pulls my head through the window opening.

Major Katsuragi yells fall into the backdrop as Yamamoto whispers oily English into my ear. I can almost picture a forked tongue flickering near my earlobe. "I remember you," he says, "even if you don't remember yourself. I'll give you one warning: I don't need your 'help.' So, stay out of my way… or get buried under it."

_When is this light going to change?_ I wonder, and as if on cue the light changes. In an instant Yamamoto releases me and leaves us in the dust,

As I pull my head into the car, I comment, "I thought people weren't allowed to operate motorcycles until after they turned twenty."

As she guns the engine Major Katsuragi rumbles, low and menacing. "He found a way to circumvent that rule, that cocky bastard. Thinks he's so great at everything."

"The problem is, he is," Ikari says while looking at me worriedly. "You all right, Andrew? What did he say?"

For some reason, I am reluctant to tell them everything. So I reply, "Nothing that could make any sense."

The rest of the trip passes without incident, although the Geofront is far larger than what I expected. This poses a problem for me, as I tend to become somewhat disoriented on land. As such, NERV headquarters looks positively labyrinthine to me. After all, hallways all look the same when you're walking through them.

Which is why I think it is random chance that the Major stops in front of a door. As if she reads my mind, she says to me, "It's gonna take you a while to get used to this place, even if you're twice as smart as I am. Don't sweat it; I had a very good teacher, and I'll guide you through until you know it yourself."

"Thank you, Major." I step before the door, but hesitate to push the opening pad. I turn to the Major. "Major, I'm sorry, but could you wait out here while I report to the Commander?"

The Major's eyes reflected a harsh light. "I would have done it even if you hadn't asked. It's all I can do to keep myself from emptying my clip into the bastard."

I nod, then wait for her to step out of the line of sight of the door before opening it.

The cavernous room is etched carefully with a design and a language that I cannot understand. Other than that it is dark. The only other feature being a desk, a chair, and two men, who are both perfectly at home in the darkness.

Commander Gendo Ikari is poised over his desk, a sheaf of papers in front of him. I recognize him from his profile picture, although he has different spectacles on this time. Although he seems lost in thought, he isn't doing anything, just sitting there with his hands bridged over his mouth, so I clear my throat to make my presence known.

The Commander looks up, his face devoid of any reaction or recognition. "And you are…?" He asks.

I find myself getting aggravated. How could a commander not know of new arrivals, or simply have someone unexpected walk into his office? Such lackadaisical awareness would not happen in the presence of a military commander.

But as protocol orders, I salute and say, "Second Lieutenant Stewart, reporting for duty."

His brow creases as he asks, "You came here just to do that? You're supposed to report to Major Katsuragi, not me."

I respond, "It is proper protocol to report to the highest ranking officer, sir. I wanted to make sure I did my duty."

With a dismissive wave of his hand he says, "Our mission – to defend Earth against Angels – is far more important than mere protocol. Such trappings burden a commander with needless trivialities, and makes him less effective in completing a mission."

By the time he finishes, I realize that my fingers are cutting into my palms. I force them open and wipe my hands on my pants. "Permission to speak freely, Commander?" comes easily to my mouth.

His face takes on an indifference of a statue. "Go ahead."

I take a deep breath before proceeding. "Sir, an organization such as NERV, with the world depending on its vigilance, needs protocol the most. Protocol provides stability in unstable situations –"

"Ah," says Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, stepping forward,"but it can be said that protocol is inflexible at times when fluidity is needed. For example, the fifth angel attack – if we had followed protocol and filed all the paperwork required for requisitioning the positron rifle, Third Impact would be initiated long before the last paper was signed."

I adjust my tactics, taking advantage of the example. "From what I recall of the transcripts, it was Pilot Ikari's adherence to protocol that saved us from Third Impact. By sighting the target in the center and pulling the trigger, he completed the mission even while Pilot Ayanami was under heavy fire.

"In the case of the US military, protocol is the rock on which we stand and launch all our attacks. It is the anchor that holds us fast when new circumstances in battles batter us from all sides. We are secure in what to do because we have protocol, and so we succeed.

"Following protocol will also help endear the command staff to your unique methods. I understand that you are not favored in this organization; perhaps joining them in training exercises will help in your favor. Perhaps joining them in live-fire exercises or a jog around the geofront will endear them to you."

Commander Ikari seems to sink lower in his seat, while Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki leans close to him and says, "Ikari, you could stand to lose a little weight."

"Enough of this," the Commander says. "A pilot should not question the methods of his commanding officer. Especially since my methods have been effective so far."

"These tactics have been effective, to be sure, but they come at a high cost," I point out, ticking off fingers to name the offset, "Putting the untrained Third Child into an EVA in the first angel battle ruined Unit One on her maiden voyage. Allowing the Second Child to run rampant and taking her EVA into battle at an untenable sync ratio against the Fifteenth angel caused serious damage to her mental state. Activating an autopilot system with maverick tendencies during the battle with the thirteenth angel nearly cost the life of a valuable pilot. Finally, not activating all Units while battling the Sixteenth Angel – an enemy that could not be analyzed, and therefore against which no strategy could be planned – cost Pilot Ayanami her EVA.

In conclusion, your 'tactics' resulted in a thinning of your defensive line until the only protection that remained against the Seventeenth Angel was Unit One, whose pilot had a fragile psyche at best, and was facing against one of his supposed friends. Your gambles nearly caused Third Impact, and the only reason why you won out was because the Angel surrendered unconditionally."

Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki steps forward. "While the Commander's methods have been unorthodox," he says, "They have always proven effective. Against the Eighteenth Angel our only viable pilot was unwilling to fight and protect Humanity, until he threatened what he perceived to be the two people that Pilot Ikari cared about. In this way he motivated the Third Child and saved us from the angel."

"Even that may have far greater repercussions then benefits," I observe. "In threatening those key subordinates, you have lost their respect and made them more liable to mutiny. Had you ordered Major Katsuragi as Pilot Ikari's direct superior to motivate him – _as protocol dictates_ – your command would not be as tenuous as it is now."

Commander Ikari then spoke. "Pliots are replaceable. Subordinates are replaceable. There is not one person here, _Pilot_ Stewart, that cannot be switched with someone of equal or better talent. All that matters is the victory against the Angels."

I remain silent, but in my mind I disagree. These pilots have something far more valuable than skill – they have experience. That cannot be replaced, no matter how superior the person.

And my title is Lieutenant Stewart. And does that not mean that you are replaceable as well, Commander? Perhaps your subordinates should know of that fact.

Out loud, I ask, "What are my orders?"

A pause, then, "You are to reconvene with the other pilots. Arrive at my office when and only when you are summoned. However, you will observe the behavior of the other Children and Major Katsuragi, and submit a weekly report through Doctor Akagi. That is all. Dismissed."

What? I'm not a political officer, damnit. I'm not going to get involved with your infighting. I say, "I will report on the pilots' progress and training. If you are curious about their behavior, someone who has a degree in psychology would be more suitable for that report."

I salute, and as I turn away I cannot resist muttering, "You might need that psychology evaluation for yourself as well."

- - - - - - - -

The major is waiting for me outside. She looks at me in open concern, as though I'd just emerged from a burning wreck on the runway.

"You okay?" Misato asks in English. I shake my head.

"In all honesty, Major, I'm amazed that anyone's still okay with that man in charge," I answer truthfully, glad I was able to substitute what I originally was going to say in place of _man._ Misato chuckles in a very unhappy tone.

"Yeah… Tell me about it." She smiles at me. "C'mon, the other pilots are at the cafeteria. Let's go." I nod and walk alongside the Major, noting that she has no difficulty finding her way to the cafeteria from the Commander's office.

Rei and Shinji sit at a table across from eachother. I frown as I note that the camaraderie I observed before between them seems subdued, their postures uncomfortable in the presence of one another. I take a seat on the side of the table that the First Child is sitting at, while the Major takes one next to Ikari. Shinji looks at me in a slight curiosity, though his eyes do not meet mine.

"… Has anyone attempted to frag the Commander yet?" I ask, hoping to break the tense silence. Shinji looks confused, as does Rei to a lesser extent. Misato snorted.

"Frag?" Asked Shinji.

"Its slang for assassinating an unpopular officer," Misato answered, smirking darkly. Shinji nods at this information, his eyes narrowing as he looks down at the white surface of the table.

"Why is it called 'frag'?" Rei asks quietly. I try to emulate the grim smile some of my fellow recruits used when they explained this to me back at Groom Lake.

"Because it's usually done with a grenade," I reply. The Major's dark smile grew wider. Shinji turned to look at Misato, then at me.

"… Is everyone in the military like this?" He asked. Misato blinked.

"Well…" Whatever Msato's explanation was going to be, we never get to hear it as the alarm klaxons begin to go off.

"_All pilots, report to Eva cages immediately!" _A woman's voice orders over the intercom. The other pilots and Misato rise, as do I, and we all head out of the cafeteria. Not knowing where to go, I stick close. I can't help but notice the dead tiredness in all their eyes, the fatigue of war that defines the expression of combat veterans. It is clear that this war has gone on too long, and too poorly managed. They are on the knife's edge, and it's digging into their throats. How much longer can they last?

I guess we'll find out.

- - - - - - - - -

Pilot Yoshi Yamamoto. Apparently a Japanese-American, born December 17th 2001. Native of Raleigh, North Carolina. Orphaned when his parents were killed in a car crash, The next thirteen years of his life are a blank until he entered the University of North Carolina, and earned a degree in advanced physics within four months of registration. He was recruited by NERV as an Eva Pilot Candidate shortly afterwards. Unlike the NERV facilities in Japan and Germany, the US NERV bases and the Department of Defense did not wait for the Marduk Institute to select individual Children as new pilots. They used the Marduk Report, instead, to enlist volunteer children and train them for possible duty as Eva pilots. Those not chosen often went into the normal military or simply retired, returning to school with a significant college fund available.

Yamamoto excelled there just as he had in college, showing a natural aptitude for hand-to-hand combat and a marksmanship rating well above that of Marine Recon snipers. His instructors reported he was a likeable, fantastic person. At least two female and one male pilot candidates attempted to enact romantic relationships with him, which he declined. At least one of the candidates, heartbroken, committed suicide after their rejection.

Unit 09, of the Mass Production Evas, was chosen as his mount after he completed synch training in test bodies at Fallon Naval Air Station, Nevada. The Eva in question was under construction at the NERV4 facility in New London. He passed all synch tests and consistently scored well over 120 percent synch ratios. He demonstrated the ability to adjust his AT Field into coherent energy blades easily, before he was finally certified and transferred to NERV1 in Japan shortly following the Eighteenth Angel attack.

Of course, it's all a lie.

According to my records, I was part of an Eva Pilot Candidates training group of 47 other children. Our unit was USAF-trained, while other units were under the jurisdiction of the other US services. However, even though I don't remember them, the reports indicated that I would have noticed if a hotshot like Yamamoto was in the program. We all would.

No one in any of the Pilot Candidate Units could achieve higher than a 20 percent synch ratio… Except for me. And I certainly never got to 120 percent. Not even close. I was, however, able to reach the necessary ratio for combat.

Why, I don't know. I wasn't the only child in the program who had parents involved in NERV. I certainly wasn't the highest-ranking pilot. I achieved operational status in the F/A-16S Viper and F/A-22C Raptor within 140 hours of training time each, roughly the average even for older pilots. Eva operational status was gained after another 110 hours. My retraining after the accident with Unit Four's S2 engine barely took half that long, thanks to the fact that my muscle and analytical memory had remained intact.

The insanely short time that Yoshi Yamamoto required to gain operational status in the Eva unit, added to his unbelievably high synch ratio and forged background would have triggered every security measure the American NERV facilities had established after the Fifth Child/Seventeenth Angel's infiltration. Now, we have yet another Angel, with yet another Eva, heading down to Terminal Dogma to start Third Impact.

That was essentially the briefing given to us by the Major over the radio as Shinji and I got into our Evas. Minus the information about my own background.

"Shinji, stay close and go to fangs out," I ordered, taking the lead in Unit 04 as I switched to IR vision. The Eva complied instantly, lowering the visor normally reserved for long-range targeting into place over my eyes. I could see the Eva unit, even with the heat distorting affects of the armored walls and Bakelite, three levels below us.

"_What?"_ Shinji asked. I mentally cursed.

"It means, get your sword out and ready," I translated from the fighter pilot jargon patiently. My rear view holowindow showed that Unit 01 had removed it's massive vibroblade and activated it.

"Pilot! Maintain ES!" I ordered angrily. Shinji opened a window, looking confused.

"_Wait, what?"_

"Just turn off your sensors, communications and weapons until we see him, allright?" I ordered, feeling a headache coming on. _How could he be ignorant of such basic…? Nevermind._ Of course he would be.

Fortunately, it didn't look as though Yamamoto had noticed the electronic noise from Shinji's mistakes. He was still methodically cutting through the barriers in his way to Terminal Dogma. I brought up the blueprints of the complex, and mentally traced a route to cut off the Angel at a junction well away from TD, but within the time we had.

"Okay Shinji, I want you to go ahead and start breaking through walls. You're got siege capability and we'll need it. I'll tell you where to go." I was glad that Shinji immediately followed the order and charged ahead, smashing through the first wall I targeted through his hololink. If he'd been given the proper training, he'd be the perfect soldier.

"Allright, standby Shinji. We're going to cut him off and take him down. Major, can you establish a link to Yamamoto's Eva?"

"_No good, Lieutenant. Yamamoto's overridden external control and communications access. We've got the MAGI working on it, but so far there's nothing doing."_ There's a small amount of anguish behind her voice, but she's hiding it admirably. Zero One smashes through yet another wall, and I follow at a measured pace. Zero Four was designed for ranged combat and command/control ops, rather than close range brawling.

The final wall goes down. The Angel's Evangelion is near.

"Shinji, stay on my right flank. Get ready to engage." Unit Zero One comes alongside, as we unfold our AT Fields.

"_So, the little soldier's come to play?" _Sneers Yamamoto. "_You trying to take the glory for yourself, huh?"_ I frown, deciding that he's just playing psywar.

"Your tricks won't work this time, Angel," I said flatly. "Looks like the quality of your infiltration's gone downhill." Shinji remains silent. I hate having to bring this up, especially in light of what happened to him, but putting this Angel off guard might be our only hope.

"_Oh, no. It's working just fine. Really Talon, it's just us! Why bother pretending?"_ I shake my head, momentarily wondering how the Angel knows my callsign.

"You're insane. Or whatever passes for insane for your kind."

"_You're kind of a bigot, aren't you?"_ The Angel taunts.

"I don't take kindly to genocidal monsters attempting to destroy my race," I reply flatly.

"_Aw… Such a noble spirit, even though you're going to be stuck looking in for the rest of your life. Never really part of humanity. You're just a puppet, despite your power. Always were, little Talon…"_ I open fire. At the same time, Shinji lunges forward, his blade going to full strength as he swung for the black Eva. His progressive blade clashed against the Black Eva's AT field. My sensors screamed at an onrushing AT field burst.

"Shinji, watch out!" It was too late… The blast sent him flying over my head, nearly hitting me. I drop into a crouch and opened fire, which wasn't a particularly bright idea. The Angel's Eva lunged forward at a speed I've only seen in recordings of Unit One gone berserk. A flash of orange energy, and my senses are occupied by two things-The sight of that Eva's green eyes glowing demonically right in my face, and the agony of its two AT field sabers shoved through my Eva's chest.

"AAAAAAUUUUUUUGHHHHHHH!" A stream of images and feelings bellow in my brain, my memories cycling as though on a high-speed slideshow.

"_You don't remember, do you?"_ Hissed Yamamoto. "_Well then… Guess you'll just have to DIE!"_ My rear-view holowindow is still open. Even as my body screams in pain, my mind attacked… I still see Unit Zero One behind me, getting up. A solution enters my mind, in the form of two words.

"SHINJI… BACK!" I feel my Eva losing balance, as I fall back in a twist. Our position shifts, the black Eva following me and keeping it's blades in my chest. I keep screaming, but I'm able to keep screaming the same thing.

"SHINJI-ARGHHH! BACK!" _Back! Back! Shinji! Back! Please!_

"_I wonder… what will happen when you die?"_ Yamamoto sneered. I feel my plugsuit beginning to burn, emulating the damage being taken by my Eva. All I can see is the black Eva, eyes burning, _mocking_. As if to say _Why are you even here, little human?_

"SHINJIIII! BAAAACCCKKK!" I scream, one last time… Just as the Eva's eyes widen in response to an impact. They flare white, before going black.

As does my own vision, as the pain abruptly subsides…

Yoshi Yamamoto's autopsy revealed what his obviously doctored medical reports didn't-An S2 organ, right in place of the heart. It didn't save him from the fist of Unit Zero One smashing right through his entry plug and causing instant death from the intense pressure change. His S2 organ shattered, but left the rest of his body relatively intact.

My own injuries were limited to psychic shock from feedback. My training had included dealing with simulated injuries to my Eva, but the real thing… That was something new.

The other Eva pilots had to go through all this without the benefit of it being a simulation. Truly risking life and limb to defend the planet. To save us all.

For me, this is a job. A job I trained for, volunteered for, and still keep to. It's not about the money, humanity, or holding up the family tradition. My records say that members of my family have been in the US military back to the Revolutionary War. That my father saved hundreds of people, behind the front lines and in the hospital, often without being paid.

All that, however, is meaningless without the memories of my parents telling me about it. Without my mother, an ace combat pilot in the Third World War, to proudly inform me of my heritage. Without my father, a brilliant scientist, to tell me about the people who he saved, about the sanctity of life.

No. Without the memories, it's just data on paper. Just words, numbers, statistics. I kept to this because I knew how to do it, and to let my only remaining memories go to waste just seemed… Wrong. Something inside me, beyond thought and emotion, just kept me here.

Units Zero Zero and Zero Two will soon be repaired and ready for combat action. The Eight Child is supposed to soon arrive for synch training. In the meantime, Misato's going to take me into her home. Shinji and Rei are already under her guardianship, and adding me just makes things easier from a legal standpoint. Also, living with the other pilots can further help me figure out how to organize and repair this battered unit. They do not lack courage, or determination. But these traits can erode and burn out a soldier if they are not properly disciplined or cared for. I am not here to lead the fight against the Angels, to be the spearhead. I am here to sharpen the spear and guide it to the heart of the enemy.

It's time to go to work.

- - - - - - - - - -

_The first part of this chapter was written by my good friend Hamstadini, while the rest was preread by him. Check out his works in the Evangelion and Star Trek: Voyager sections of the site! You won't be disappointed. _

_While the first few chapters of this story are going to be dark and dramatic, expect the humor to begin reasserting itself, just as hope begins to take root in Tokyo-3 once more. Booyah!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Like a lot of you, I used to watch Toonami on Cartoon Network. Old school anime at its best, as far as American TV was concerned. In truth, I always wished Evangelion became a regular on Toonami, but if Gundam Wing was pushing the censors, Eva would have made them faint.**

**So, before we resume our story, here's a fun little fan-made preview concept for Evangelion: After Impact (which is what I would call this series were it to become an actual anime). Enjoy. Or at least pretend to, I put an excessive amount of thought into this tripe. Just pretend that Evangelion was on Toonami before this. And try to imagine cool techno-music while reading it. Or hell, play music and see what fits!**

**- - - - **

OPENING IMAGE: _Shinji Ikari looking up at the night sky._

NARRATOR: In the year 2015, the secret organization known as SEELE used the power of the Angels to attempt to initiate the Third Impact.

(_Various scenes from Evangelion's last episodes and _Death and Rebirth)

NARRATOR: They succeeded.

(_Shot of Asuka and Shinji looking out over the Dead Sea, and Rei's giant head)_

NARRATOR: But all is not what it seems.

SHINJI: (_sits up in bed, wide-eyed and panting)_ Hah! Hah! Hah…

(_Shot of Shinji looking around the apartment; Misato and Pen-Pen are sitting at the table, drinking beer.)_

SHINJI: Misato?

MISATO: (smiles at him) Hey!

(_The scene switches to that of Shinji talking to Tabris, floating outside the window)_

SHINJI: I killed you!

TABRIS: Apparently not.

SHINJI: What-What is all this? And what was that dream?

TABRIS: That was no dream, Shinji. That is the future. Or rather… Was.

(_Montage of several Angels)_

GENDO: The scenario is gone. _(light flashes over his glasses)_

NARRATOR: The power of the Angels is no longer under SEELE's control.

(_Scene of Keel and a girl who resembles Rei Ayanami in a dark room)_

KEELE: You must obey the scrolls!

GIRL: (smirk) I must do nothing. _(she blasts him, making him scream in agony)_

NARRATOR: And the trouble has just begun. (_Closeup of the girl's eyes, with Keel's burning form reflected in them)_

NARRATOR: New enemies.

(_Quick shots in this order: Tall white-haired man who resembles an albino Sephiroth, creepy-looking girl in a black dress holding a doll, the big-nosed SEELE guy, an MP Eva grinning)_

NARRATOR: New pilots.

(_Shot of Andrew in his entry plug, looking composed. Switch to shot of Mana aiming a gun for the viewer with a smirk. Switch to shot of Touji with a backpack hanging over his shoulder turning towards the camera with a frown.)_

NARRATOR: New… Girlfriends?

(_Mana hugging a blushing Shinji from behind)_

MANA: That's right! I'm all his!

SHINJI: Ma-Mana!

(_Shot of Asuka in Unit 02 as she rushes in attack)_

ASUKA: I won't let you beat me!

(_Scene change. Unit 04 is slammed up against a wall within NERV, as it continues firing its Eva-sized shotgun into the assailant's stomach)_

ANDREW: YAAAAAHHHH!

(_Scene switches to Unit 00 firing her positron cannon at a winged serpentine Eva-like beast)_

(_Shot of Touji's sister Kimiko, sitting in an entry plug as her eyes glow)_

TOUJI: KIMIKO!

(_Scene: Misato standing behind Hyugga)_

MISATO: Launch Evas!

ASUKA: Prepare to die!

(_Shot of Unit 02 slashing off an MP Eva's head)_

SHINJI: Nothing's the same anymore...

(_He bows his head in his room, as Rei watches from the doorway)_

REI: No.

(_Slow scene of Shinji taking the control reins of Unit 01, breathing deeply and glaring ahead, before he screams. The image dissolves into an image of 01 roaring, its eyes glowing bright yellow.)_

NARRATOR: The continuation of one of the greatest animes of all time.

(_Unit 05, resembling a metallic blue Unit 03, spins around a long spear before throwing it at the camera, as it explodes into light. The light flashes repeatedly, before forming _"Neon Genesis Evangelion: After Impact" _in stylized Kanji.)_

NARRATOR: Evangelion: After Impact. Weekdays at five thirty.

(_Shot of Unit 01 flying with all of its wings spread, forcing a black Eva with glowing red eyes to slam through the Geofront armor in its freefall)_

NARRATOR: The end is here…

(_View of Rei's iris dilating, then Unit 03 throwing its head back and roaring)._

NARRATOR: Only Toonami.

(_The Toonami logo flashes, before switching to the Cartoon Network logo. Screen goes black.)_

**Now, on with the show!**

The cemetery was getting crowded. Headstones seemed to be stuck in traffic, packed in a multitude of barely organized rows. Touji could barely step through without upsetting a still-smoking incense arrangement. He took a deep breath, and pressed on.

The plot had been difficult to get. With Second Impact's raising of the sea levels, a nation like Japan, where space was already at a premium, became a land-hunter's nightmare. But his mother's family had always maintained a tradition of buying up funeral plots well before they were needed.

And so he at last came to the headstone. He sighed, and knelt down before it.

"Hey Mom. Been a while since I visited, huh?" The jock Eva pilot was silent for a moment.

"A lot has been going on." He held up his right arm, looking over the supple, baby-smooth skin of his hand. He compared it to his left hand, roughened by a lifetime of athletic exertions. Touji smiled sadly to himself.

"A lot."

**- - - -**

Dr. Akagi knew that the girl in her arms barely weighed 36 kilos. She knew this. It had been repeated in every medical report on her.

_So why does it take so much effort to carry her?_ The scientist mused.

The girl herself had not said much since they'd left the hospital wing. With the angel alarms filling the base, they'd been paid no mind. The persistent pages to her cellphone had been ignored, leaving the fake blonde to suffer the crushing silence between them.

The door to the Eva cage opened. In the red glow of the emergency lights overhead, the dark form of Evangelion Unit 03 seemed appropriately demonic. The girl stirred slightly, her eyes widening at the huge biomechanical monstrosity. Ritsuko began to hope…

The girl looked up at Ritsuko, her eyes determined.

"No." Ritsuko took a deep breath, and nodded. She headed for the Eva.

**- - - -**

"_Feeling helpless again, Rokubungi? I should hope so,"_ the sinister, feminine voice taunted through the main bridge's speakers. All eyes were transfixed on the Commander, whose face had gone quite pale.

All of the screens were dominated by the grinning visage of the blonde Eighth Child. Stephanie Mikumi Masaharu had been sent by SEELE, in light of the continuing threat of the Angels to their plans. Unit 03 and Unit 00 had begun reconstruction, and with NERV-2's return, Unit 04 and it's pilot had already been sent along.

The identity of the Seventh Child had not yet been revealed, but Ikari suspected from the start a trap in this SEELE-chosen pilot. She was too cute, too happy, too… Innocent. He'd put her in Unit 00, which was still under repair, so that if she did prove to be an Angel, she would pose less of a threat. But now, the Eva in question had completely regenerated, and was stalking down deeper into the NERV complex.

"What do you mean? Explain yourself, Pilot!"

"_Oh, I'm afraid the pilot's been rendered completely brain dead. There's just me, Rokubungi,"_ the girl replied, grinning insanely.

"Sir! The MAGI have engaged the base self-destruct!" Maya warned. Gendo turned to the lieutenant.

"Shut it down! Engage the manual override!" The lieutenant leapt down and ran for the MAGI main control system, pulling on the manual release… But nothing happened. The bridge crew looked about, as countdowns appeared in several screens.

"_Dear me, did I do that?"_ The possessed girl laughed. "_Kind of difficult to use the MAGI against the very woman who created them, isn't it?"_ Gendo turned to Fuyutsuki, who shook his head.

"She's not answering."

"Where is that goddamned whore?" Gendo snarled. He turned to the Bridge Bunnies again.

"Eject Unit 00's plug immediately!" Shigeru and Hyuuga both tried to get some response from their computers. Aoba even took out his guitar and began beating his workstation with it. Predictably, this did nothing.

"Sir! We're completely locked out!" Hyuuga reported. "Though we're still getting status feeds from the Eva cages!"

"_Of course you are, you pathetic fool,"_ Masaharu cackled. "_I want you to see every minute of this!"_ With that, bakelite began flooding into the cages, the Evas there nearly instantly sealed by the quick-hardening liquid. Gendo turned to Aoba.

"Status of the Evas?"

"Units One, Two, and Four are completely immobilized!" Shigeru reported. He shook his head. "And the control systems for all of them have been disconnected! The pilots are trapped!"

"Get repair teams down there, now! We need to cut the Evas free!" Gendo ordered.

"_Aw, where would the fun in that be, Gendo dear?"_ Masaharu mocked from the screens. She giggled madly once more, before the screens shifted to a view of Unit Zero making it's way down towards Terminal Dogma. Gendo grit his teeth.

"Fuyutsuki… Get the Fourth Child." The sub-commander frowned.

"Unit Three is in no condition to fight!"

"It appears we have little choice," Gendo sighed. "And find that damned Akagi!"

Ten minutes later, the aging sub-commander returned to the bridge, and looked at Gendo.

"The Fourth Child has been taken from the hospital wing. We're going to put him into Unit Three now," he reported flatly. Gendo nodded, and turned back to the Bridge Bunnies.

"Report!"

"Unit Zero is approaching Heaven's Gate," warned Maya. "Estimate four minutes to central chamber!" Gendo nodded and grit his teeth. A warning light went off on Aoba's station. He looked up from the various wires and components he'd been rifling through, trying to regain some access to the MAGI, and gawked.

"Sir, we are receiving telemetry from Unit Three!" Gendo turned to Fuyutsuki, who looked puzzled.

"Odd… It shouldn't have been that fast…"

"Psychographs do not correspond to the Fourth's!" Maya shouted. Gendo turned to the lieutenant.

"Explain! And get me some video, damnit!" Maya pulled together a few wires, and a holoscreen appeared, showing a small, crippled girl in the entry plug, holding onto one of the control reins with her remaining arm. Gendo's eyes widened, as a familiar alert sounded on the board.

"Sir! Synch ratio is climbing! Forty… Fifty… Holy-!" Fuyutsuki gasped at Gendo's side, and the commander could not blame him. The entry plug began to glow around the girl, who had an expression of complete tranquility on her face.

"Suzuhara's sister," Fuyutsuki murmured. Gendo nodded.

"I believe we now know where Dr. Akagi got to," he murmured back.

**- - - -**

Misato drove wheelchairs about as well as she did her car-That is, fast and precariously reckless. Touji couldn't help but scream in very unmanly pitches as they careened around corners and popped up on one wheel in several instances.

"GAH! Major!" He squawked, his artificial arm gripping the armrest of his chair so tightly he was afraid it would break. Misato didn't waste her breath, entirely focused on getting their only hope to the Eva bay…

Which, Misato noted as she rushed the squealing teenager, was already open. She screeched to a halt, and Touji swore that smoke trailed behind them.

"Ritsuko! What the hell are you doing here?" The blonde doctor was frantically typing at her computer, as the grim visage of Unit Three loomed over them. Misato had to give Touji credit-The Fourth did not so much as flinch at the sight of the rebuilt Eva that nearly killed him.

"It's far from simple, Misato," Ritsuko answered distractedly, her fingers a blur over the keyboard. "But I think we can now verify who the Commander put into Unit Zero." Misato blinked at Ritsuko, before it clicked.

"Oh God… Your… Your mother?" Ritsuko nodded curtly, still typing. Touji frowned.

"What's… What's going on, Doc?" Ritsuko did not look at him.

"As you know… Or may not know… An Evangelion needs a soul to actually run." Touji blinked.

"Soul? You mean, as in, like, a _real_ soul?"

"An aural pattern, a person's essence-Depends upon your philosophy." Ritsuko checked the Eva's eyes, bit back a curse, and resumed her typing. Misato walked over, a sudden, terrible idea appearing in her mind.

"Ritsuko… Shinji, Asuka, and Andrew's mothers… They're all in their Evas, right?" Ritsuko spared a single nod.

"Correct. Though Andrew is the only one not aware of this."

"We'll have to fix that… But if that's the case, then who was in Unit Three?" Ritsuko sighed.

"At first, we used a digitized soul. Basically an imprinting of an aural pattern into the Eva's core, allowing it to operate. But when we rebuilt the Eva, we couldn't repeat the process."

"Why?" Touji asked. Ritsuko sighed.

"We don't know. In any case, that's probably why my mother left Unit Three alone. Without a soul, or a facsimile thereof, the Eva will not work. Period." Touji gulped, and looked up at the Eva.

"So… Who's in there?" Ritsuko was silent for a moment.

"You didn't," Misato snarled. The blonde looked down.

"She'd figured it out on her own." Ritsuko looked back at her computer, feeling dead inside. "Your sister is truly something else, Touji. She's brilliant."

"NO! KIMIKO! NO! GET OUT OF THERE!" Touji screamed, getting up on his artificial leg and staggering over to the Eva. Ritsuko moved to stop him, and he punched her in his fury.

"WHAT KIND OF SICK BITCH ARE YOU? YOU'RE TRAPPING MY GODDAMNED SISTER IN THAT THING!" He bellowed. Ritsuko kept her eyes to the floor. Touji roughly grabbed the doctor by the collar and snarled in her face… But his next curses caught in his throat as he saw the tears in Ritsuko's eyes.

"We had to evacuate her section… And she asked what was going on…" Ritsuko choked back a sob. "And I told her… And she said… She'd do it." Touji gaped, tears running down his cheeks now too, as the eyes of the Eva began to burn green above them.

"Why… Why would she do this?" He bawled, shaking Ritsuko violently. Misato stood nearby, utterly in shock.

"… She said… She had to do it. To let you save them all." Ritsuko wept openly at this point, ashamed at the kind of monster she was, and moved by the sheer courage of the little girl sitting in the entry plug not forty meters away. Her computer beeped, and the three looked over. Ritsuko stumbled to the screen, and fought back a fresh wave of tears.

"… 400 percent… Core is… Stable…" The blonde doctor sunk to the deck, and pulled her knees up to her chin. Misato looked at Touji, filled with grief.

"… Touji?" The Fourth Child stood there, his tears still falling from his eyes as he just stared at the sniffling doctor before him.

"… Did she say anything else?" Ritsuko looked up, but could not meet Touji's eyes.

"She loves you… And she did this because of that love." She took a deep breath. "Because she'd do anything to keep you safe." Ritsuko looked down at the deck again, as Misato moved to Touji's side.

"Touji? Please… The other Evas are sealed, they can't get there in time…" The Fourth Child looked at Ritsuko, then looked at the Major. He nodded curtly. Misato rubbed his back, and led him to the Eva. The major engaged the manual release, and the entry plug emerged. The hatch opened, revealing that the cockpit was only marginally filled with LCL. Floating in the blood-like fluid was a hospital gown, and two nerve connection bands. Misato turned to Touji, almost convinced that this view would break him… But the Fourth Child simply took the connectors and attached them to his head. He fished out the hospital gown and handled it, gently, over to the Major, who held it to her breast like a mother does her baby.

"Hold onto that for me," he told her. The major nodded, and stepped back as Touji practically threw himself into the Eva's seat, closed the hatch, and ran the half-remembered activation sequence. He closed his eyes, felt the giant beast's will merge with his own… And was filled with a gentle, vibrant serenity. He felt himself crying again, but this time his face held a small smile.

"Eva Unit Zero-Three-Launch!"

**- - - -**

_To be continued…_

_Yes, I'm just evil like that, aren't I? Mwahahahahaha!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Damn… Could it be that I actually like writing this piece of crap fanfiction?**

… **Nah, I'm just desperate to break my writer's block. Break, damn you! Break!**

**Oh well, in the tradition of Toonami, I present a few character promos for your perusal, from Evangelion: AI. Yes, I'm glad I chose a title that can form a fun acronym.

* * *

**

(_Scene is that of Shinji playing his cello, framed by a purple border with his name scooting across the bottom)_

NARRATOR: Shinji Ikari. The Third Child. Pilot of Unit One.

(_Scene is of Shinji looking grim in his plugsuit, as Gendo glares back.)_

NARRATOR: His father and SEELE planned to use him to initiate Third Impact.

_(Scene switches to Asuka and Rei in a tug-of-war with Shinji's arm)_

NARRATOR: Bet they didn't plan on this.

ASUKA: Back off, Wondergirl!

REI: I will not.

ASUKA: He's mine, dumbkoff!

REI: No he's not.

SHINJI: (sighs, tears streaming from his eyes) Oh boy…

(_Scene switches to a stylized Evangelion logo)_

NARRATOR: Evangelion: After Impact. Weekdays at five-thirty.

(_Scene becomes Shinji screaming in Unit One as he charges an MP Eva)_

NARRATOR: They grow up so fast… Only Toonami!

* * *

(_Scene is that of Rei looking out the window in class, framed by a bright blue border with her name scooting across the bottom)_

NARRATOR: Rei Ayanami. The First Child. Pilot of Unit Zero.

(_Scene becomes Rei and Shinji watching the sunset from a hill.)_

NARRATOR: Once a mere pawn in Gendo Ikari's scenario, the arrival of the Third Child changed her forever.

_(Scene switches to Rei in her plugsuit, kissing a blushing Shinji on the cheek.)_

NARRATOR: In a good way.

(_Scene switches to Asuka yelling about something in class. The camera closes in on Rei's face.)_

ASUKA: And furthermore-!

REI: Shut up.

ASUKA: (_turns around, wide-eyed)_ WHA!

(_Scene switches to a stylized Evangelion logo)_

NARRATOR: Evangelion: After Impact. Weekdays at five-thirty.

(_Scene is of Asuka gaping at a smiling Rei)_

NARRATOR: It's always the quiet ones… Only Toonami!

* * *

(_Scene is that of Asuka in her yellow sundress, smirking and waving her arm at Unit Two, framed by a red border with her name scooting across the bottom)_

NARRATOR: Asuka Langley Sorhyu. The Second Child. Pilot of Unit Two.

(_Scene becomes Asuka laughing in Unit 02, as she fires rocket launchers at an Angel.)_

NARRATOR: Fearless in battle, confident in life, she always gets what she wants. No matter the cost.

_(Scene switches to Asuka grabbing Shinji's hand and smirking at him.)_

ASUKA: C'mon, you're buying me dinner!

SHINJI: But uh-Hey!

(_Scene switches to Asuka hitting Shinji over the head in Misato's kitchen)_

ASUKA: You pervert! Grow a spine already!

SHINJI: AUGH! HEY! Quit it!

NARRATOR: Lucky Shinji.

(_Scene switches to a stylized Evangelion logo)_

NARRATOR: Evangelion: After Impact. Weekdays at five-thirty.

(_Scene is of Asuka giving the victory sign in a holoscreen)_

NARRATOR: Don't mess with perfection... Only Toonami!

* * *

(_Scene is that of Touji looking out at Unit Three, framed by a black border with his name scooting across the bottom)_

NARRATOR: Touji Suzuhara. The Fourth Child. Pilot of Unit Three.

(_Scene becomes Kimiko sitting in the entry plug, turning into LCL. Switch to shot of Touji watching in horror)_

TOUJI: KIMIKO!

NARRATOR: His sister made the ultimate sacrifice to give him the chance to fight and live.

_(Scene switches to Touji fingering flowers in front of a grave.)_

NARRATOR: He's not going to waste it.

(_Scene snaps to Touji in Unit Three, with a positron rifle charging up.)_

TOUJI: (looking determined) You're going down, scumbag.

(_Unit Three fires the rifle, utterly annihilating an MP Eva.)_

(_Scene switches to a stylized Evangelion logo)_

NARRATOR: Evangelion: After Impact. Weekdays at five-thirty.

(_Scene is of Touji smiling at Unit Three, before turning and walking out of the Eva bay. Closeup on the Eva's face. It's eyes glow green.)_

NARRATOR: The power of family ties... Only Toonami!

* * *

(_Scene is that of Andrew, standing and saluting in a blue US Air Force uniform, framed by a white border with his name scooting across the bottom.)_

NARRATOR: Andrew Stewart. The Sixth Child. Pilot of Unit Four.

(_Scene becomes Andrew in the back of a two-seater F-22, his eyes closed behind his face mask as the fighter pulls a high gee maneuver.)_

NARRATOR: Born and raised in a military family, honor, duty, and loyalty are a way of life. In the air, he has no equal.

_(Scene switches to Hikari smiling shyly at him in front of the school.)_

HIKARI: So, I hear you know how to fly.

ANDREW: (shrugs with a sheepish smile) I've done a little…

(_Scene switches to Unit Four, flying on MP Eva-style wings, racing through the ruins of Old Tokyo, water being kicked up in his wake. Shot of Andrew in the entry plug, his face determined.)_

NARRATOR: It's the things on the ground that still need work.

(_Scene is of Andrew trying to cook, with Shinji nearby. Andrew's pot goes up in flames, and he screams)_

ANDREW: AUGH! (tries patting it out)

SHINJI: Hey you've gotta stay focused!

(_Scene switches to a stylized Evangelion logo)_

NARRATOR: Evangelion: After Impact. Weekdays at five-thirty.

(_Scene is of Andrew accidentally walking into a stop sign and falling back, spinny-eyed. Hikari rushes over.)_

NARRATOR: Keeping your head in the clouds... Only Toonami!

* * *

(_Scene is that of Mana, sitting in an entry plug in a metallic blue and purple plug suit, framed by a dark blue border with her name scooting across the bottom.)_

NARRATOR: Mana Kirishima. The Seventh Child. Pilot of Unit Five.

(_Scene becomes Mana firing a USP at several black-suited men.)_

NARRATOR: Once a spy for SEELE, she joined NERV in order to help save the world.

_(Scene switches to Mana glomping Shinji from behind. Asuka nearby snarls.)_

MANA: You're not going to let this brat talk that way to your girlfriend, are you Shinji dear?

ASUKA: GIRLFRIEND!

SHINJI: No! It's not like that! I swear!

NARRATOR: As well as a few other things.

(_Scene is of Mana, dressed only in a towel, emerging from the bathroom. She smiles sexily at a blushing Shinji)_

MANA: What did you say, Shinji dear?

SHINJI: Um, I-I-I…! Uh…

(_Scene switches to a stylized Evangelion logo)_

NARRATOR: Evangelion: After Impact. Weekdays at five-thirty.

(_Scene is of Unit 05 punching Unit 02, the red Eva stumbling back before charging, tackling Unit Five into the ground)_

NARRATOR: All's fair in love and war... Only Toonami!

* * *

**Allright, enough of that. Back to the story.

* * *

**

"Okay, explain this to me again." Misato looked about the empty Eva cage, while Ritsuko worked at her laptop furiously. The blonde didn't spare her a glance.

"Yes?"

"How are we going to stop your mom, who has control of the MAGI, with only one Eva that you're running on…" Misato bent over and looked at Ritsuko's screen. She blinked.

"Windows 2015!" Ritsuko blushed.

"My MAGI-run machine is at home. Suffice it to say, this computer is actually too simple for the MAGI to override." Misato blinked again.

"… Care to run that by me again?"

"There are only so many ways for the MAGI to access a computer," Ritsuko explained. "One is through wireless transmission. Another is through a hardline. This computer has neither, so the MAGI can't access it in the first place." Misato blinked once more, and looked over at the steadily unwinding phone jack line roll. She shook her head.

"This has got to be the craziest idea you've ever come up with," the major sighed. Ritsuko nodded, typing a few new commands into the computer.

"Tell me about it. Allright, you can talk to him now. Just try not to talk for too long, the connection's tenuous as it is." Misato grumbled something regarding spears and cave drawings, as she accepted the combo headphones/microphone.

"Touji, can you hear me? Over." A brief bout of static followed.

"_Roger that, Major. Over."_

"What's your status, over?"

"_Three minutes, thirty seconds on the battery. And I'm right where Ritsuko's directions tell me I should be. So now what do I do? Er, over." _Misato looked at the blonde. She mouthed 'jump'. Misato nodded.

"Just jump, Touji. Over." There was a pause.

"_You're fucking kidding me. It's like a five hundred foot drop! Over."_ Misato grimaced.

"Look Touji, we don't have a lot of time! So just jump already! You guys can take it! Over!" Another pause.

"_Am I still getting paid for this? Over."_ Misato raised an eyebrow at Ritsuko, who shrugged.

"I'm sure we can convince the commander to open their funds up to them," she said. Misato winced.

"We'll get back to you on that, Touji. Over."

* * *

Naoko Akagi smirked as the massive doors of Heaven's Gate at last came into view. It had been eleven long years, trapped within this monstrosity. She'd hoped she would at last be free when the doll self-destructed Unit Zero-Zero, but the damned core had remained intact. Naoko had felt like weeping pitifully the moment she realized she was still trapped.

But then… She'd felt it. They were the touches of another mind, trying to probe her innermost thoughts. She seized onto the mind, and drew it into her own, ignoring the agony this act brought.

She then smiled. For this child, with all of her powerful abilities, was nothing more than a weak little girl hiding behind her resume. SEELE had experimented on her, turning her into a living weapon. All because she'd wanted to become an Eva pilot. Her telepathic abilities would have allowed her to seize control of NERV for SEELE without them firing a shot.

But Naoko Akagi's inner darkness and torment were more than enough to wipe out the pitiful child's mind and replace it with her own.

_Now_, she reflected, smiling in her new, youthful, beautiful body, _now I have my revenge!_

Rokubungi would lose many things dear to him this day, she would guarantee it. If he somehow stopped the self destruct, the MAGI would lobotomize themselves and be rendered useless. If it did go through, he'd lose his life and his precious Evas.

But Naoko wanted Gendo to watch as she took Lillith's body and destroyed it herself, removing his hope for recovering Yui. Breaking him, before the end.

The perfect revenge.

Unit Zero at least reached the doors to Lillith's chamber. She raised up her hands, preparing to blast the doors open with her AT Field…

When the doors blasted back, falling on top of her. She let out a surprised scream as several hundred tons of metal and stone smashed her into the ground, burying the bright blue Eva in rubble.

Eva Unit Three stepped out of Lillith's chamber, carefully walking over the piles of debris.

"Damn, glad I thought of that first," Touji mused. He felt an impression of amusement in the back of his mind, and smiled.

"_Touji? Touji, do you read? Over."_

"Roger that, Major. I read. Unit Zero is toast. Over."

"_Ritsuko asks if you crushed the core? Over."_ Touji blinked, and recalled that this was the same core that survived Unit Zero's self-destruct.

"Oh shi-"A bright blue form burst out of the wreckage, grabbing Unit Three around the neck and tackling the black Eva into Lillith's Chamber. Touji gasped as the cyclopsian Evangelion kept running, finally crashing both biomechs into the vast lake of LCL surrounding the Second Angel.

"GAH!" The grip on his throat became more pronounced, cutting off his air supply. He struggled with his assailant, grabbing Unit Zero's wrists and pulling as hard as he could.

"_Bet you wish they'd kept the extending arms the Angel gave your unit, huh boy?"_ Taunted a voice over the radio. Touji gritted his teeth as his vision began to grow dark.

"_I've had more experience at strangling than you'll ever know, you stupid bastard," _snarled Naoko, relishing the feeling of a neck in "her" grip once more. Touji finally managed to flip then over, slamming Unit Zero into the lakebed.

"_AUGH! You son of a bitch!"_ Touji breathed deeply as the grip on his throat at last vanished. He pulled both of Unit Zero's arms as hard as he could, planting his feet into the blue mech's stomach for greater leverage. He then gave a mighty yank-

"_AAIIIEEE!"_ Unit Three burst onto the surface of the lake of LCL, clutching the detached arms of Unit Zero. Touji quickly swam to shore, pulling himself out of the blood-like liquid and kneeling.

"_Touji? Touji, do you read? Touji!"_

"I'm fine Major. Got about a minute of power left," Touji responded. He took a deep breath. "She's going to be coming up after me any second. Where's the core? Over?"

"_Ritsuko says it's either in the unit's head, or its chest." _Touji blinked.

"Wah… Which is it?" Misato could be heard screaming in the background, as Ritsuko's voice came on.

"_Hey, you'd forget too if you had as much work as I do! Keeping track of all the Evangelion's different parts isn't remotely easy!"_ Touji would have responded, had Unit Zero not come roaring out of the lake, its bone mask broken and its teeth bared.

"_Tis but a flesh wound, bitch!"_ Naoko screeched, charging at Unit Three. Touji began to move… But stopped.

_Trust me,_ a familiar voice in his head whispered. Touji nodded, and let go.

"_Diiiiieeee!"_ Naoko leapt the last few dozens of meters between the two biomechs, her jaws opening like those of a crocodile. In an instant, Unit Three's hand moved, forming a fist right in the path of Unit Zero's head.

_SCRUNCH!_ Unit Three rammed its fist through Unit Zero's eye and into its cranial case. It ignored the blue Eva's screaming as it finally grabbed hold of something hard, and squeezed with all its might.

"_AAAYYYGHHHHH-!"_ Naoko's screams were abruptly cut off as the object Unit Three was crushing shattered into a gory mess. For good measure, the black Eva rammed it's other fist through Unit Zero's chest plate, and ripped out a bloody, gooey mass that dribbled obscenely out of its grip.

Touji opened his eyes, and saw what his sister/Eva had done. He made a face.

"Ugh! God damnit, that's just wrong." He swore he heard a faint giggle, as Gendo Ikari's face appeared in a holoscreen before him, looking stern.

"_Pilot Suzuhara, status?"_

"Unit Zero has been subdued, sir. May I ask about the self-destruct? And the other pilots?" Gendo grimaced, visibly agitated.

"_We've re-established control of the MAGI, and the self-destruct has been canceled. The Third, First and Sixth Children are fine. The Eighth… Was apparently rendered braindead by Akagi when she was possessed. Rather unusual occurrence for an Angel to be possessed by a human." _Touji gawped.

"Angel!"

"_Yes. It is the only logical conclusion that can be drawn from the data. The Eighth Child is thus post-humously designated the Twentieth Angel… And your first kill." _Gendo raised an eyebrow.

"_By any chance do you know how the main gates were destroyed?"_ Touji kept a straight face, even as feelings of amusement from his sister (and himself) grew.

"No sir. They were like that when I got here." Gendo blinked, and stared at Touji for several seconds. Touji coughed, a few bubbles rising in the LCL.

"Something wrong, sir?"

"_Didn't you have only one leg and one arm?"_ _Thanks to you,_ Touji bitterly thought. He looked down… And cried out in shock.

"HOLY SHIT!" He shakily raised up his right arm, and ran his left hand over it. It was… It was all there. Just as he remembered. He ran a hand down his restored left leg, still trembling. Gendo stared as well. The commander's eyes grew wide as the Fourth Child held up his now superfluous artificial limbs.

"… Kimiko," he whispered, a fresh batch of tears dissipating into the LCL. His sister seemed mildly bemused, but extraordinarily happy as well.

"…_Since you no longer seem to, ahem… Be, er… In your previous state, I am returning you to active duty as a pilot. Expect to be here on a daily basis,"_ Gendo ordered, before the window vanished. Touji glared at the spot where the holowindow had been, and felt his determination rise with the help of another's.

"Count on it," he growled, as his Eva's eyes glowed bright green.

* * *

Touji sat back, smiling at the headstone in a way that seemed to belie his age.

"Dad wanted to put in Kimiko's headstone… But that wouldn't be right. She's not dead… Just, well… On vacation." He leaned forward. "I promise you though… When this is all over, we're going to visit you. Together."

With that, the Fourth Child stood up, waved slightly, and walked off in a confident gait, whistling an old song.

* * *

_Happy ending for this chapter! Yay!_

_Next time: How did Mana become the Seventh Child? What happened to Andrew when NERV-2 was trapped in the Dirac Sea? How the hell did Asuka come out of that coma? And why is the author still writing this crap? _

_Hopefully, answers to these and more questions next time!_


	5. Chapter 5

_God, still can't write anything but this. Maybe I enjoy torturing my readers with crummy stories._

_Notes on the Angels so far:_

_-18th: Perhaps we should be thanking this generic, Gundam Wing obsessed SI for coming in when he did. If he hadn't, SEELE would have launched its assault on NERV and begun Third Impact. Instead, we get Gendo actually helping his son be strong by holding Misato and Rei hostage if Shinji doesn't get up and pilot. Frankly, I think the combination of his father showing some sort of emotion towards him, and the ones he loved in danger like that, would be enough to knock Shinji out of his depression long enough to go and fight._

_On the Angel: I'm basically making fun of newbie anime fan writers for making their Evas total rip-offs of Gundam, GaoGaiGar, GetterRobo or (God forbid) Go Lion (a.k.a. Voltron).  
_

_-19th: I'm not naming names, but I believe veteran Eva readers can recognize who this guy's supposed to be. Mysterious Sixth Child with a super powerful black Eva with AT-Field sabers (whatever the hell those are supposed to be), always shows up unannounced, often has psychic or otherwise "super" powers, is a genius, never loses a battle, and gets the girl(s). Plus, he generally works alone because his Eva and piloting are so gosh-darn great, who needs the other Children anyway? His destruction is thus purposely very ironic-His cool weapons, loner mentality, and ego provide his downfall. Killed by Shinji with an assist from Andrew. But you can be sure he won't be the last of his kind our heroes will face._

_-20th: Oh God, are these girls annoying. Mostly you see them in the guy-heavy anime fandoms, where they get to have whatever character they're lusting over without any semblance of plot or sense. You do however see a number in Eva. This one had telepathy, an Aura of Innocence, and evil cuteness mind control powers. Which, of course, didn't fool Gendo for a second. Unfortunately for him, he put her into an Eva with the soul of a very, VERY dangerous and vengeful woman. Synching with an Eva is a two-way street, shown repeatedly throughout the series, and having heightened sensitivity to the thoughts of others is in this case a big disadvantage; especially when the telepathic bubble-brain in question is up against a mind as demented and brilliant as Naoko Akagi's. Luckily, Naoko decided to have fun and take the long path of vengeance, which gave Ritsuko and Kimiko the time they needed to restart Unit Three. Touji would later crush Unit Zero's core, "killing" Naoko Akagi, but leaving its pilot braindead. She would later be put in suspended animation and studied by the science section of NERV. (Dun dun dunnn!)_

**T-minus 28 minutes**

The hum of the engines seemed a soothing melody through the LCL of the entry plug. Vibrating through the liquid, it's constant and steady rhythm was making Andrew feel sleepy.

"_Andrew-kun… Andrew-kun? Are you allright?"_ The Sixth Child blinked, and shook his head free of the cobwebs. He nodded at the unseen Lt. Ibuki's question.

"I'm fine. How long to the drop point? Over." A holoscreen appeared, showcasing the smiling face of Maya Ibuki.

"_Still about thirty minutes to go. Just sit tight, everything's going to be fine."_ Andrew smiled slightly.

"It's not like I'm going into battle, Ibuki-san. Over," he added out of habit.

"_No, but this is probably bound to make anyone in your position nervous."_ The American nodded at this, sighing quietly.

"A little, yeah… Thanks. Over." Maya shook her head in bemusement.

"_You don't have to say 'over' at the end of all your communications you know,"_ she teased lightly. Andrew shrugged. It was protocol, something he was used to. Still…

"Sorry about that. Over." He apologized simply, as Maya chuckled.

"_Don't worry about it."_

"Thank you Ibuki-san. Over."

Something stirred in the back of his mind. There was a movie screen… And a smiling, dark haired woman… Andrew's brow creased as he tried to grab onto the slippery impression, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. He shook his head.

_Don't focus on that. Focus on the mission,_ he reminded himself. He began mentally reviewing the sequence of events that led to this moment, out of habit instilled by training more than anything else…

**T-minus 5 hours, 37 minutes**

"The Stewart Wing system was intended to give the Eva units far greater mobility in combat operations," Dr. Ritsuko Akagi explained, a rather complex diagram displayed on the floor screens under hers and everyone else's feet in the command section. The four currently active Eva pilots, Shinji, Touji, Rei and Andrew, were also at the meeting.

"With a sufficiently high synch ratio, a pilot would be able to manipulate these wings like any other appendage of the Evangelion," Ritsuko continued, the screen switching to a schematic of an Eva with two large, feathered wings sticking out of its back. The blonde doctor took off her glasses, and looked straight at the pilots.

"Unfortunately, until recently we have been unable to test the system under anything but laboratory conditions," Ritsuko stated. Touji blinked curiously, as Shinji raised his hand.

"Why is that?" The Third Child asked. Ritsuko raised her eyebrows.

"Because the only operational version in existence was, until recently, unavailable." She looked directly at Andrew, and everyone else's gaze soon followed. The American blinked, and nodded.

"Um, yes. Unit Four's got the prototype system installed." Everyone soon got it, and turned their gazes away somewhat awkwardly. Ritsuko cleared her throat.

"With NERV-2's disappearance, we'd been working on creating a replacement system, but so far they've all been rather miserable failures." Ritsuko looked back over at the pilots. "Today's mission will be the first true test of the Stewart system in flight. Unit Four will be air-dropped over this designated testing zone," the floor screens below switched to a map of a nearby valley.

"Unit One will be deployed in the area as well, and Units Two and Three will be on stand-by alert." Touji frowned.

"Uh, why, if you don't mind me asking?" The Fourth Child inquired. Misato smiled wryly.

"It's the new policy. At any one time, we'll have at least two Eva pilots on stand-by in case an Angel appears. With how they've been showing up recently, it's better to be safe than sorry. And they've shown up during experiments before." Touji frowned, and Misato felt like kicking herself. _Way to go Katsuragi, reminding him of that!_

"The mission will commence at 1600 hours. Dismissed," Fuyutsuki stated, and the screen below shut off.

**T-minus 4 hours, 19 minutes**

"Hey… Mind if we sit here?" Andrew looked up from his bowl of ramen to Shinji and Touji standing across the mess hall table he was at. He nodded.

"Sure." The Third and Fourth Children took their seats. Touji immediately dug into his full plate, while Shinji couldn't help but stare at the Sixth Child. The American knew how to use chopsticks, but still ate his noodles slowly.

"So… How do you feel about today's test?" Shinji asked, trying his hand at starting the conversation. Andrew looked up into his eyes and shrugged.

"Just a test… No big deal," he said quietly. Touji chuckled.

"Confident, huh?" Andrew made a non-committal grunt.

"It's not like I haven't flown before," he replied. Shinji nodded, something Misato had said about the Sixth floating back on top of his memory.

"Oh! That's right, you were trained by the Air Force, weren't you?" Andrew nodded.

"Basic Training, then Flight school. All of it with forty other candidates for the job." Touji made a sympathetic noise.

"Ouch… Must have been tough." The American shrugged.

"Seventeen weeks of survival training, running through obstacle courses, weapons use…" He shook his head. "It was a slightly scaled-down version of the standard program, since we were all only twelve at the time, but it was still challenging." Touji leaned forward, unconsciously emulating his friend Kensuke's eager expression.

"And Flight Training?"

"It was actually mostly to build our endurance to gee forces and so forth," Andrew explained. "They never let us fly by ourselves until we'd been in the sims and trainers for over 100 hours."

"So, why were you named the Sixth?" Touji asked, changing the subject. "You were selected way before me." Andrew shrugged.

"Don't know. My father was head of Project E in Nevada. My mother was part of the command staff." Shinji blinked, the blank tone of the American's voice indicating _something…_

"So, uh, you living with your parents here?" Touji asked. Andrew stared at him blankly, in a manner eerily reminiscent of the First Child.

"No. My dad died when I was eight. My mom committed suicide when NERV-2 vanished." The two older boys froze.

"… Sorry to hear that," Touji said awkwardly. Andrew shrugged.

"I can barely remember them anyway."

"They weren't around a lot?" Shinji asked sympathetically. The American shook his head.

"No, it's not like that. I just can't remember. Ever since the activation test…" Andrew looked thoughtful. "The doctors say it has something to do with being in that pocket universe for a whole year… Though it didn't feel like it."

"What do you remember?" Shinji blurted out, before he could stop himself. Rather than becoming angry, as Shinji had expected, Andrew merely shrugged, almost helplessly.

"I remember the countdown at least, sitting in the plug. There was an alarm, people shouting. Next thing I know, it's like I'm waking up after being asleep for a while. I thought I fainted." Touji looked concerned.

"So, what…? It messed with your brain or something?"

"They said I'm in shock, repressing my emotions or something. But it doesn't feel that way. It's not like the memories are hiding, it's like they're just not there." The American finished his ramen and stood up.

"See you later," Andrew said politely, before turning and heading out, pushing the empty cup into the trash as he left the mess. Shinji frowned as Touji resumed eating.

"Man, that's creepy," the Fourth commented. "Like what happened to Asuka, ne?" Shinji shrugged, still staring at the exit.

_Asuka,_ he thought with guilt. She was still in that coma, still lying there helplessly in the hospital. He looked up at the ceiling.

_It just seems like Eva takes everything away, _he thought. _Rei's humanity, Asuka's life, Touji's arm and leg… My family… And Andrew's too…_

_Eva also let you meet Asuka, and Rei, and Misato, _a small part of him reminded his gloomy thought process. _Let you meet Touji, Kensuke, Hikari, Kaji…_

_But it's taken so much… So much…_

**T-minus 3 hours 33 minutes**

The silvery-grey form of Unit Zero Four stood in its cage, technicians and equipment covering it like insects scavenging over the skeleton of some long-dead creature.

Its red eyes were dull, it's jaw closed tight. But Misato could not help but compare it to its sister biomech, Unit Zero Three. It stood just as peacefully as that other Evangelion had so long ago…

Before erupting into violence, springing forth like a demon of Hell and blowing the entire facility to kingdom come. The major shivered, and turned back to Ritsuko working diligently at her computer.

_How does she do it? _Misato wondered, staring at the blonde. _Putting it all behind her and still working? Should I be frightened? Or should I look up to her for it?_

Touji still wouldn't even look at Ritsuko. When he'd been called in for synch tests, he'd always talked to Maya or herself, completely ignoring the head of Project E. Misato wondered if Ritsuko noticed, or even cared. She'd been weeping when Kimiko had gone into Unit Three… But not five minutes later and she'd gone back to her cold, indifferent self.

"So that's it."

"So that's what?" Misato asked, disturbed out of her musings by Ritsuko's quiet statement of satisfaction. The blonde looked up and smiled, before hitting a key and causing a holoscreen to appear before the major.

"… This the Mass Production Evangelion?" Misato asked, looking over the white, muscular form displayed in front of her. She grimaced at the lack of eyes and the demented-looking mouth. _Who the hell designed these things?_

"Yes." The diagram shifted, sprouting wings. "See the shape of the air foils?" Misato nodded.

"Kind of looks like a sparrow," she observed. Ritsuko nodded.

"Exactly. See, when NERV-2 vanished, so did all the research on the Stewart Flight System. All the models, notes, the works. We had to start from scratch, practically. We assumed that Dr. Stewart would model the wings after a small bird, such as, yes, a sparrow. It's intended to give the Evas more ground-to-ground mobility."

"Essentially, making it able to 'hop' around a combat theatre?" Misato surmised. Ritsuko nodded.

"Precisely. However, Dr. Stewart's actual design, for the version of the system Unit Four has, is very different." The diagram shifted once more, displaying the grey Eva with large wings emerging from its back. Misato frowned.

"Squared off wings?" Misato traced the shape of the air foils with a finger, noting that the wing tips, rather than curving steadily as in the MP Eva's wings, were blunt and broad.

"He apparently decided to have the final design be more like that of a hawk or eagle. The broader wingspan allows it to glide more easily at high altitudes, and the squared-off tips give it much greater maneuverability." Misato rubbed her chin.

"An air-to-air Evangelion, huh?" The major mused.

"It can outrun military helicopters… In theory," Ritsuko admitted. "But it's definitely not going to be doing any high-speed dog fighting against jets." Misato nodded.

"Still, it would work just fine as an airspace denial weapon. It definitely has potential in close air support and strike missions." Misato smiled. "That Dr. Stewart does some fine work."

"Yes… He did," Ritsuko said quietly. Misato blinked… Then slapped her forehead.

"ARGH! I'm such a baka! Dr. Stewart-!"

"Is Andrew's father, yes," Ritsuko answered, smiling in gallows humor. Misato looked out at Unit Four, chewing on her bottom lip.

"So… He's in there, huh?" The blonde doctor stood up and walked up to Misato's side, her arms crossed under her breasts.

"Yes… He was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer six months before Andrew's eighth birthday. Officially he disappeared and was declared dead… But in reality…" Ritsuko nodded at the Eva, and Misato sucked in a deep breath.

"What kind of parent does that to their kids?" She hissed. Ritsuko shook her head.

"One who wants them to survive," the blonde doctor said softly, her eyes on the grim mask of the gigantic biomech.

**T-minus 2 hours 51 minutes**

Shinji stood in the silence of the hospital room, looking down over the pale and silent girl still lying in that damnable bed. He'd seen it before, once-It had held a NERV tech injured in the 9th Angel's attack. The tech had died of acid injuries, trying to get a connection line open manually so that the Evas could engage the spider-like monster.

It was this bed he'd been held in, and Shinji could only recognize it by its image burned into his memory by the long, flat note of the heart monitor.

He moved forth his hand, and clutched Asuka's tightly. Shinji felt his breath hitch, as though he were about to sob. But he didn't cry. Not anymore.

"I miss you," he whispered. He smiled sadly. "I miss you yelling at me for dinner… Miss you fighting alongside me… God, I even miss you hitting me in the back of the head." He chuckled a bit at that. "Touji's back on the piloting roster. He did pretty good. Not as good as you would have done, but still… We owe him our lives. Just like I owe you mine." Shinji shook his head.

"Kensuke thinks I'm crazy. I wonder if I am, sometimes." He sighed. "You won't wake up. They don't know why." He chuckled.

"I finally met someone who's had it as bad as we have. Maybe worse. Not having your parents around is one thing, but… Having them, and then not being able to remember? Which is worse?" Shinji closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of Asuka's hand. The guilt of what he'd done over her came back, and he clutched it harder.

"I'm so sorry… I know you hate it when I apologize, but… But this isn't reflex. I mean it. I miss you so much…" He bowed his head. A sharp pain to the back of it filled his consciousness, and he knew no more.

The figure behind him grinned, before it took Asuka's hand, and smiled down at her.

"Soon, my dear… Soon…" With that, he pulled Shinji off the floor, and into an upright position. A flash of light later, and Shinji Ikari left Asuka Langley Soryu's room, an odd smile upon his face.

The heart monitor by the Second Child's bed began to beep more quickly…

**T-minus 2 hours 22 minutes**

Andrew frowned as he pulled on his plugsuit. The white, blue and red material felt like a mix of rubber and silk, with a weight like leather and the consistency of plaster. Pressurizing the suit, it clung to his skin and made him wince. He knew, intellectually, that it wouldn't suffocate his skin, it was breathable, tough, and aided in his duty as a pilot.

Logic dictated that it didn't matter how it felt. If it did the job, that was enough.

_So why do I feel uneasy wearing it?_

"You okay there Sixth?" Touji asked, appearing from behind a set of lockers in his blue, grey, and black plugsuit. The prominent '04' on his chest was covered briefly as the Fourth Child pounded over it with his fist, looking thoughtful. Andrew nodded.

"Yes." Touji grinned slightly.

"You've been in a locker room before, right?" Andrew shrugged.

"Yes. I have."

Touji laughed heartily, patting him on the back. Andrew tensed a bit at the contact, something the pilot of Unit Three failed to notice.

"Relax, man! Ain't nothing we haven't seen before." Touji shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest plate. "Glad to see you acting all flustered." Andrew turned and frowned at the taller boy.

"Huh?" _Flustered?_

"Well, I was starting to think you were another Ayanami," explained Touji. "All work, ya know?" Andrew shrugged.

"I just don't have a lot of other things going on," he said simply. Touji frowned slightly.

"Well, that ain't good. I mean… Soldiers need rest, right? Course they do! Otherwise they go crazy." Touji shook his head and grinned once more. "Lighten up! I thought you were a fighter pilot?"

The American shook his head.

"I never got to fly by myself…"

"What kind of plane did you fly?" Touji asked.

"F/A-22B Raptor," Andrew answered automatically. Touji whistled.

"Damn! I don't get off on that stuff like Kensuke, but that is one fine ride." Touji grinned. "Did you like it?"

Andrew considered the rush of five to six gees pulling on his frame, the eruption of joy and fear that roared through his body as the fighter rushed into the air, breaking the bonds of the Earth. He remembered tears coming to his eyes, seeing the indescribable beauty of the wide open, cloudless sky…

"Yes…" He decided, smiling a little. "Yes. I liked it." Touji grinned.

"Well then, relax! Just enjoy things, all right? And don't mess up-I want to go flying next!" With another slap on the back, Touji headed out of the locker room. Andrew stood for a few moments more, his face in a thoughtful frown.

_Why can I only remember that… But not my parents?_

He'd only been training to be an Eva pilot for two years. He'd known his father for eight years, his mother for thirteen… But all he could recall was what he'd read in the files. He wondered how he should feel about this. Sad? Angry?

He wondered if it would matter if he could.

**T-minus 1 hour 0 minutes**

Rei double checked the sensor pad on the wrist of her plugsuit, nodding as she saw the transmitter and various other devices integrated into the garment were functioning properly. She looked up at the broad, scarlet and orange shoulders of Unit Zero-Two, as the crews worked on its launch preparations at a leisurely pace.

In all honesty, she found it… Acceptable for the crews to be working slowly. The fact that the Second Child still laid in a coma in the hospital, and that it disturbed Shinji, made her uneasy being anywhere near Pilot Soryu's Evangelion.

_Shinji …_ He had still not spoken to her directly since he had discovered her true nature. Major Katsuragi had taken her in when the Commander abandoned her after the Eighteenth Angel attacked, cutting the power and water to her apartment. She had not questioned his actions: They spoke for themselves.

She was no longer useful to him. Just as Shinji had no longer been useful when he was a child.

She had felt pain, though she suffered no physical injury. Pain in her chest, and her usual emptiness had seemed even greater. She had wandered the streets, nothing with her aside from the clothes on her back.

She had gone to his apartment. He had met her at the door.

Even then, he had not said anything. Shinji merely brought her in, covered her in a blanket, and prepared a meal for her. Rei had not dared say anything, terrified that if she did, he too would reject her.

He had piloted to save her and the Major's life… But Rei wondered if he'd done it merely for the Major, and not her. He made a few token comments to her, at dinner, while the Major (Misato, she corrected herself) had taken them out to eat or to the living room to watch TV. He made her lunch everyday, left out for her after he went to school ahead of her.

Rei knew he was avoiding her… But why? For two weeks, she agonized over the possibility that he considered her nothing more than a responsibility. Was that all she was to him?

The First Child blinked, and took a deep breath. She felt something… Like a shadow glancing over her mind. What was it? It seemed familiar…

On the other side of the Eva cages, the Third Child got into his entry plug without fanfare, though the tech who helped him into the cockpit noted that the usually downcast boy was smiling oddly…

**T-minus 45 seconds**

"Main life support system reads at 100 percent," Andrew reported. Mentally he ran through the pre-flight checklist written by his mother for the program. He wondered, again, why he did not feel anything about it.

"_Confirmed. Main locks, disengaging in thirty seconds. Good luck, Andrew-kun!"_ Andrew nodded and smiled at Maya's words.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Ibuki. Unit Four standing by." The entry plug came to life around him, flashing through the psychedelic displays and intense pulses of light before finally showing the spare cloud cover over the testing area valley, 13,000 feet below him. He felt a mild thrill in his belly, and a true smile come to his face.

"_Five, four, three, two, one, release!"_ He felt the locks disengaged, and the sensation of his stomach trying to fly into his chest. His heart pounded, his muscles went lax, he gritted his teeth…

Outside, the wings of Unit Four emerged for the first time. With the sound of a plastic tarp being buffeted by the wind, the broad air foils emerged. They wavered but a moment under the rushing assault of the wind, before flapping smoothly and confidently, stabilizing the biomech's fall.

Andrew realized, belatedly, that he had closed his eyes. Opening them, the sensation of the rushing air flowing through the gaps and spaces in the Eva's armor, the warmth of the sun ahead, and the sound of the wind combined with the heavenly sight stretched out before him.

He felt he was at home. A feeling he couldn't remember having for… How long _had_ it been, anyway?

_Too long,_ implied a thought in the back of his mind, a mix of sadness and affection behind it. Andrew blinked, alarmed. _What? What was that?_

Unfortunately, he didn't get his answer, as an energy blast ripped through his right wing, making him scream in pain and shock.

**T-plus 1 minute 8 seconds**

"What the-? Report!" Misato demanded, the holoscreen before the bridge crew showing that some kind of weapons discharge had hit Unit Four.

"Energy blast identified… Type 22 positron rifle! Source…" The main screen showed an image of Unit One, holding the powerful weapon in its hands. Misato gawked.

"We have a blue pattern! It's coming from Unit One's entry plug!" Maya screamed in horror. Misato felt her eyes misting over.

_No… No…!_

"Unit One, respond! Shinji! Shinji!" Misato screeched, pounding the control panel. There was no response, as Unit One turned and jumped back down the elevator shaft.

"Launch Units Two and Three," ordered the Commander. His voice seemed harder than usual, the light reflecting off his orange glasses.

"Designate Unit One as the Twenty-first Angel…"

_Dun dun, dah dah dun dunnnnn!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Some moron started writing it not knowing what it was, and he'll continue writing it forever just because…

* * *

_

Unit One crashed through the wall with ease, it's eyes glowing bright red as it unleashed a blood-chilling roar throughout the Geofront. It lumbered over the landscape, seemingly with no real destination in mind.

It abruptly froze, and shuddered.

_GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT!_ Shinji screamed, the entity within his mind reeling.

_SILENCE! You are nothing, Third Child! Now suffer for your impudence!_

Shinji shrieked so loudly inside his head, the entity possessing him could swear that his skull rattled.

_NOT THAT! NOT THAT!_

_MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA-_

_**Excuse me**. _The entity would have blinked, if it had eyes. It felt another presence in the mental clash.

_What? Who are you?_

_**My name is Yui Ikari. Now, exactly what are you doing to my son?**_

_Uh… Possessing him. I'm the Twenty-first Angel._

The Angel abruptly found himself outside the purple Evangelion, bouncing along the ground.

_Oof! Ouch! Ow!_ The Angel turned about, and lunged for Unit One again.

_I'll teach you the price of defia-!_

_Thud_. The Angel slumped down the chest plate of the Evangelion, its core cracked. Immensely humbled, it limped away, phasing through the ground.

Back in Unit One, Shinji shook his head with a groan.

**_You allright, dear?_**

"Uh… I think so…" Shinji blinked. "… Mother?"

_**That's right, Shinji… I'm right here.**_

"But… But how?"

**_When that idiot was synching with me, he brought me out just enough to tap back in. Unfortunately for him, I'm a lot stronger than he thought._** She chuckled.

"But, um… Isn't he now loose in the Geofront?" Shinji asked.

There was a pause.

_**Damn!**_

"_Unit One! Unit One! Shinji! Shinji, can you hear me? SHINJI?"_

"I'm here, Misato. I'm here… The Angel left me."

"_So where is it now?"_

"Somewhere in the Geofront-Isn't it giving off a blue pattern?

There was some hurried conversation in the background.

"_Ritsuko says it's possible the Angel only powers up and casts a blue pattern when it possesses someone. We're recalling all the pilots right now."_

"Roger that, returning to base… Is Andrew-san allright?"

"_He's okay. He was able to land with one wing."_ There was a hint of pride in her voice. _"Damn can that boy fly."_

"_Actually, in this case, I crashed,"_ Andrew spoke up over the radio.

"_Don't be so modest, it's annoying."_

"_Sorry ma'am."_

"_Sheesh Shinji, if I didn't know any better I'd say you had a twin brother…"

* * *

_

"According to the sensor logs of Unit One, the Angel possessed Shinji briefly, then was forced out by an AT Field Surge." Ritsuko pushed her glasses back up her nose.

"This indicates that the Angel can only possess people, not Evas. Ergo, why we have assembled you all here." The pilots collectively blinked at the blonde scientist. All four were sitting in uncomfortable chairs, around an ugly table, in a nondescript, depressing-looking room.

"Exactly what good is a bunker against an Angel that can float through walls?" Touji asked, Ritsuko coughed.

"About as much good as using an Eva to hunt this thing down will be. And besides, if the Angel possesses any of you, they can either kill you all and wipe out our pilot pool, or hijack an Eva and total the base." Ritsuko smiled cheerfully.

"However, since this shelter is reinforced with the same materials protecting the Evas, we feel that it is the safest place for you four."

"Um, what about Asuka?" Shinji pointed out. Ritsuko opened her mouth…

Just as a dull, distant-sounding boom announced it's presence through the shaking of the walls.

"_Doctor Akagi! Get the pilots to their Evas! Unit Two has gone berserk!" _The blonde doctor cursed.

"Déjà vu," Shinji muttered. Andrew blinked.

"What?"

"Déjà vu. A French term for a paradoxical state dependant associative phenomenon," Rei supplied. She blinked at the stares she received... Before Shinji began to laugh.

"Oh man… Ayanami! Ayanami, you… You watched the DVD boxset, didn't you?" Rei blinked, and frowned slightly.

"I do not understand how my statement was… Amusing, Ikari-kun." Rei looked adorably confused… Well, to an Ikari. To the other pilots, she simply looked less poker faced than usual. Shinji, snickering, got up and headed to the door.

"I'll… I'll explain later, Ayanami…" He instantly sobered. "But right now, we've got to save Asuka!" He rushed down the corridor, leaving a quartet of very confused people.

"… I believe we should follow," Rei stated smoothly, and took off after the younger Ikari. Andrew and Touji looked at eachother, shrugged, and followed Rei. Ritsuko blinked, and turned back to look at the empty room.

"… Like hell I'm going out there!" She muttered, walking into the bunker and shutting the door soundly behind her.

* * *

Asuka was vaguely aware of the smell of LCL filling her nostrils. The Second Child's brain next processed the sensation of being warm and protected, as though she was back in the womb.

_Huh? Where… Where am I?_

**You're with me, little one, **a gentle, loving voice spoke to her in the darkness. Asuka felt safe with the voice, happiness welling up inside her… But still she fought.

_What? Who are you?_

A stream of images and emotions washed over Asuka's mind, understanding filtering in through all the torment and fear and horror… She felt herself smile, openly and happily, for the first time in so long.

_Mama! Mama! Is it really you?_

**You know it is, my dear. I'm so sorry I left you. I've only been able to see you, and fight with you until now.** Asuka felt worry.

_What? Why now?_

**An Angel has taken over your mind,** Asuka's mother informed her.** It thought that, in your coma, you would be too weak to stop it from trying to start Third Impact.** Asuka felt righteous indignation flare up in her heart, her determination and pride burning like fires at the base of her soul, boiling her into action.

_Like hell I am! I'm going to waste that son of a bitch!_

**We'll do it, together Asuka!** Rather than feel offended, Asuka felt her confidence grow by an order of magnitude at her mother's statement.

_Yes! I won't lose… I won't lose… I WON'T LOSE…_

"I WON'T LOSE!"

* * *

Maya winced, holding her ears, at the incredibly loud declaration that had come over the communications system. Her fellow bridge bunnies did the same thing.

"Asuka? Asuka, can you hear me?" Misato shouted through the intercom, as the holo-image of Central Dogma showed Unit 02 pausing at Heaven's Gate. Static burst out over the comms system. Unit 02 stood perfectly still. Misato turned to Hyuuga.

"How long until the other Evas get there?"

* * *

_You pitiful child! And your whore of a mother! You shall all pay for your sins!_

"SHUT UP! I'm going to hand you your ass like every other Angel I've beaten!" Asuka snarled back, mentally throwing her will against the Angel's. Her mother's encouragement and love behind her, the mental wall of the Angel's defenses began to splinter under the assault.

_Fool! Taste of your own fear!_ Asuka was struck by a flood of unpleasant memories: Seeing her mother hang herself, being unable to pilot her Eva, Shinji and Rei holding hands and kissing in the park-

_Wha? Where the scheist did that come from?_ Asuka screamed mentally.

_Bwahahahaha! It's from Shinji's mind! Didn't you know? He's been fucking the albino since you went into your coma!_ Rather than crumbling in defeat, the redheaded Lillum struck even harder, her rage allowing her to punch a hole into the Angel's mind and rip out memories.

_AUUUUUGHHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!_

Asuka looked over the memories, seeing Shinji visiting her hospital bed, wishing to be as strong as she was, wishing she was back. She felt the warmth in his heart that he held for her, Rei, Misato…

**You know, polygamy is perfectly legal nowadays,** her mother supplied helpfully. Asuka, knowing that denying her feelings was futile in this situation, grinned.

_Oh yeah… We're gonna be having some fun when I gut you, Angel-Boy! DIE!_

The Angel screamed in horror at the images the Second Child forced into its mind next.

_AIIIIIEEEE! NOOOOOOOO!_ Asuka smirked.

_Serves you right for trying to shove this stuff on Shinji! "Tony Danza's Greatest Hits"! Bastard! NOW DIE!_

Within Asuka, the Angel's core splintered and finally dissolved into harmless radiation, as Asuka's will utterly crushed it. In her victory, Asuka bellowed a challenge up to the heavens themselves, daring any other messengers of God to come down and try their luck.

Somewhere, a silver-haired girl sneezed.

* * *

"So… Let's see if we can get this all straight," Misato began at the head of the meeting room table. The pilots, Ritsuko, Maya, and the Commanders were arranged around it. Misato took a deep breath.

"The Stewart Flight System module works just fine… Even when a wing is blown off by a positron cannon blast," the major nodded to Andrew, still wearing his plugsuit and a slightly sheepish look.

"Which only happened when an Angel possessed Shinji and used Unit One to fire the weapon," Misato turned now to Shinji, who jumped a bit. Misato blinked.

"Shinji-kun? Are you allright?" Shinji looked nervously between the almost-smiling Rei, and the smirking Asuka, flanking him on either side. He nodded.

"I'm fine," he squeaked. Misato frowned, but continued the briefing.

"Said Angel was forced out of Shinji, until it entered Asuka and took her to Eva Unit Two… After which, you destroyed it by force of will, correct?" Asuka nodded happily. Misato shook her head.

"And what did you need to talk about with Pilot Ayanami so urgently before the meeting?" Asuka shrugged, as Rei's almost-smile grew slightly. Shinji gasped quietly, which was ignored.

"Nothing much," Asuka replied smoothly. "Just wanted to know if she'd messed with any of my stuff while I was gone." Misato blinked.

"How did you-?"

"I ripped it out of the memories the Angel stole from Shinji, of course," Asuka boasted. Misato nodded, slowly.

"…Okay… Ahem. Ritsuko? Repairs on the Evas?"

"We're creating a new core for Unit Zero as we speak," Ritsuko stated smoothly. "It should be ready in a month. Aside from its wing, Unit Four suffered no additional damage and is still perfectly combat capable. We just won't be able to deploy it in the air for at least three weeks. And none of the other Evas suffered any real damage." Ritsuko sat back, and took a swig of Maalox. Nobody wanted to ask why.

"One final bit of business to attend to," Gendo spoke up at last, gaining everyone's attention. He pulled out a few papers from a file, and passed them out.

"This is the new designation system for the Angels," the commander explained. "In addition to a number, each Angel will now be given a code-name, much as was done with Lillith and Adam. Speaking of which, both Angels are now going to be placed in much-higher security areas."

"Why not simply destroy them, Commander?" Misato asked. The Commander glared.

"Simple, Major. They are what draw the Angels here. If we did not have them, the Angels would attack other locations at random, leaving us terribly vulnerable." The Commander shuffled his own set of papers, indicating a change in subject.

"Keep this as a reference guide for future battles." Asuka, predictably, broke the silence first.

"What the _scheisse?_ What good will this stuff do?" She complained.

"If we need to refer to a certain Angel, or a certain strategy employed by an Angel in the past, without revealing too much to the public, we will use these codenames," Gendo stated coldly. "Now then-Third Child."

"Yes father?" Shinji asked. Gendo glowered at him.

"Of the possible names, which do you think best fits for the Eighteenth?" Everyone stared at the commander and his son, their gazes locked. Shinji turned his eyes down to look over the list, but not with the same nervousness as in previous conversations with his father.

"Um… Chazaqiel." Gendo's frown deepened.

"Why?" Shinji took a deep breath.

"Uh… It means 'shooting star of God', and firstly, the Angel appeared like that. Also, uh, he was the Angel of clouds and meteorology, and the Angel I fought, er… Used thunder, lightening and wind-like attacks." Shinji looked up at his father, gulping a bit but not looking away. Gendo nodded fractionally.

"Very well. What would you codename the Nineteenth Angel?" Shinji gathered his courage with a deep breath, looked down the list again, and paused at one of the entries.

"… Zophiel."

"'Spy of God?'" Mused Gendo. He snorted. "Quite appropriate." Shinji nodded hesitantly. At last, Gendo turned his gaze from his son, and it then settled on Touji.

"Pilot Suzuhara. Since you defeated the Twentieth Angel, you will codename it." Touji scanned through his list, and then paused.

"Uh, sir? We sure that that girl was an Angel?" Gendo turned to Ritsuko. She nodded.

"Definite blue pattern detected."

"But she was, like, taken over by the soul in Unit Zero," Touji protested. Ritsuko smirked.

"Yes, but then we took control of Iruel with the MAGI, so it's not much of a stretch, right?" Touji shrugged, then picked a name at random.

"Bethel sounds good to me. 'House of God'." Everyone froze at Gendo's morbid chuckle.

"Indeed. Now then… Second Child. You will codename the latest Angel, which you defeated." Asuka looked a bit put out, but looked through her lists.

"… Abdeel. It means 'cloud of God', and was about as wussy as one," Asuka declared. "Now can we please go?"

Gendo nodded. "Indeed. Dismissed, all of you."

After the others had shuffled out, Fuyutsuki turned to Gendo with a raised eyebrow.

"And that entire exercise accomplished… What, exactly?" Gendo assumed his trademarked position, smirking behind his hands.

"All in good time, old friend…"

* * *

_Uh oh… Looks like Gendo's got A Plan. That can't be good. Anyway, next time will show how Andrew moved into the Zoo, how Asuka and Rei made peace, and how Mana came on the scene._

_Abdeel was basically out-of-characterness personified. I'm trying to present each new Angel as a different challenge, and personifying a bad fanfiction stereotype. Feel free to make any suggestions on anything to do with this story. Ciao!_


	7. Chapter 7

_This is the fic that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends…_

_BTW, my friend Hamstadini wrote a chapter that talks about Kimiko's POV as she was absorbed by Unit Three. Check it out! As well as all his other stuff, it's really good!_

* * *

Asuka looked over the renovations to the apartment in approval, before turning to Misato and grinning. 

"So basically, since the people nextdoor moved out, you got to knock down the wall between the two apartments and make it one big apartment?" Misato nodded, downing another beer at the kitchen table with a smile.

"Yup! And NERV footed the bill, since it makes more sense to keep the pilots in one dwelling." Asuka turned to her bowl of hot soup and spooned some into her mouth.

"Mmm… I missed this cooking," Asuka confessed. Misato shot the redhead a sly look.

"Oh? What else did you miss about Shinji-kun, hm?" Asuka flushed.

"W-Well… Allright, I admit I missed the baka, okay? But it's not like I want to jump his bones." She took another spoonful of soup, still glaring at Misato. "Besides, I'm not the one whose turning into a regular Michael Jackson!" The purple-headed major's eyes widened.

"What? What do you mean? Andrew-kun's an orphan, after all. I couldn't just let him live by himself." Asuka grumbled.

"Great… Another perverted little boy." Misato giggled.

"Actually, this is one boy I don't think you can really call perverted." Asuka frowned at the older woman.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm home!" A moment later, Andrew appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, holding bags of groceries. He was smiling in a way that seemed almost doll-like to Asuka, as though there wasn't much feeling behind it. The American put the bags on the table, reached in, and pulled out a box of pads. He handed it to Misato.

"Mission accomplished, Misato-san. I believe I got the right brand, but the supermarket guy wasn't a lot of help," Andrew admitted. Asuka blinked at the lack of a blush on the American's pale face.

"That's all right, Andrew-kun. By the way, do you know what these are for?" Misato inquired sweetly. Andrew blinked owlishly.

"No, I'm afraid I don't. Would you tell me, Misato-san?"

"Don't ask about stuff like that!" Asuka growled. Andrew turned to the redhead and stared blankly at her.

"Why not?"

"Because… Because it's not… It's not acceptable, dumpkoff!" Asuka snarled. Andrew looked perplexed.

"How? I don't even know what they're for."

"That's all right, Andrew-kun, you don't have to worry about it," Misato soothed. "Now, why don't you tell Shinji and Rei to get ready for the mission?" Andrew saluted, and headed back out of the kitchen. Asuka turned to Misato, eyes wide.

"What… The hell… Was that?" Misato shrugged, and took a gulp of beer.

"When he came out of Unit 04, most of his memory was erased. He could only recall stuff that happened in the last year or so, like his training." Her expression became one of sympathy. "He can't even remember his parents." Asuka looked back at the doorway, her face incredulous.

"Mien Gott… So, what's this mission we're going on anyway," Asuka asked, changing the subject. Misato smiled.

"It's a super special training mission! And top secret, allright? So just remember to keep your mouths shut about it to everyone." Asuka narrowed her eyes.

"What kind of training are we talking about here?"

* * *

"You approved this?" Fuyutsuki asked in disbelief. Gendo, sitting at his desk, nodded thoughtfully as he fiddled with a complex diagram on the surface. 

"Of course. The First, Second, Third and Sixth have not all worked together on a single operation before. This training mission will allow them to hone their skills. At the same time, it will grant us time to prepare for the old fools' next move." Fuyutsuki shook his head.

"One has to wonder where they're getting all these new angels. Do you think they intend to initiate their own scenario?"

"Possibly. However, thanks to a recent new translation of the scrolls, it will be revealed to SEELE and NERV that this new series of Angels serve as a final test, preparing us for Instrumentality by challenging us with the worst of Man's doings by Angels." Fuyutsuki rolled his eyes.

"In other words, you forged some new scrolls that you can change anytime you like to trick the Committee into thinking we have everything under control." Gendo smirked.

"Of course. Now then… The First and Second Children both have attractions to the Third. Attractions which can be used to our advantage. For Suzuhara, we can use his growing fanclub." The commander held up an action figure of Andrew Stewart up away from the other NERV-made Evangelion toys situated about his desk.

"What about the Sixth?" Fuyutsuki inquired. Gendo shrugged, and put the action figure back down.

"He has never disobeyed orders in his career, even before his mindwipe." Gendo frowned.

"Still… His recovery could pose a problem."

"We also have the new development of the US creating their own Evangelions," Fuyutsuki reminded him. "Based upon the Unit Three design. We will be able to get Unit Five, but we continue to negotiate for Units Six and Seven." Gendo frowned.

"Designate a Seventh Child, and make sure the proper core for it is installed into the unit." The commander thought hard. "Make it another female. Preferably an attractive, affectionate one. She will kill two birds with one stone-Provide a pilot for Unit Five, and serve as a distraction for the Sixth and Fourth."

"I'll get right on it," Fuyutsuki sighed, calling up a holoscreen and cycling through names. He paused. "Hm… I believe this one will work." The older man opened another holoscreen by pressing a button on the desk, displaying the image of an attractive, auburn-haired girl with smiling green eyes.

"Mana Kirishima. Daughter of the Special Financial Director," Gendo read aloud thoughtfully. "The perfect choice." Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow.

"Her father is involved in various covert activities in the government proper," Fuyutsuki realized. "Through her, we can get another set of eyes into the ministry and JSSDF."

"Exactly. Should SEELE run out of Angels, it would be good to have some prior warning," the commander nodded. He then frowned.

"Curious… How is it that she never showed up before?"

"She was recently transferred to Class 2-A from Osaka," Fuyutsuki read. He then shook his head. "Incredibly convenient."

At a NERV computer terminal usually reserved for emergencies, in a secluded alley, an auburn-haired green-eyed girl sneezed.

Fuyutsuki generally didn't believe in coincidences, but if Ikari was unconcerned, so was he.

"In the mean time, let us map out our strategy." Gendo turned to Fuyutsuki. "Did the Major indicate exactly what kind of training they would be involved in?"

"She said something about… what was it," Fuyutsuki muttered, rummaging through the forms before finally reaching the desired one. "Oh yes, 'combat and teamwork on unfamiliar terrain'."

* * *

"Heads up, Third!"

_BONK!_

"OW!" Shinji held his head and winced, a volleyball rolling around at his feet. "Asuka!"

"Ha! Me four, you zero third!" Asuka laughed, standing on the other side of the volleyball net in her infamous white, red-striped bikini. Overhead, the sun beat down on one of the few recreational beaches near Tokyo-3. Shinji sighed, then turned to look over at the parasail Rei, Andrew and Misato were currently under. "Misato-san!"

"Sorry Shinji, this is all part of the training," Misato grinned, downing another beer from the cooler she'd brought along. "Of course, for this to be truly effective, every one of you pilots has to be involved." The purple-haired woman turned to Andrew and Rei, both sitting quietly on either side of her on the Yebisu-brand beach towel she'd brought along. "You'd better get out there, guys!"

Rei blinked. Andrew copied.

"What's the matter, bakas? Never played volleyball before?" Asuka taunted. Rei and Andrew looked at her in synch, which made Asuka shiver slightly.

"No," Rei replied.

"Not to my knowledge," Andrew answered. Asuka groaned, and slapped her forehead in exasperation.

"Mein Gott! All right, all right, look. Get over here, I'll teach you bakas, sheesh…"

* * *

Andrew could not recall ever playing volleyball before, but he was sure that if he had, he wouldn't have liked it.

_BONK!_

"Gah!" Asuka bounced the ball off his head when Shinji served it over the net, before rushing and spiking the airborne ball with flourish, Rei and Shinji's superior teamwork no match (in this case) for Asuka's brute force and effective strategy.

"Asuka-san! Can you not do that anymore?" Andrew winced, rubbing his head. "That really hurts!" Asuka snorted.

"Oh c'mon! You've suffered worse! Stop being such a baby. Besides, we've scored seven points like this already!" Asuka paused, as Rei served once more. The redhead leapt up, slapped the ball once again against Andrew's head, making it bounce back into the air in just the right spot for Asuka to spike it once more, Shinji yelping as he pulled his feet back from the impact site.

"Eight," Asuka grinned. Andrew rubbed his aching head.

"Don't worry, Andrew-kun! You're doing great!" Misato called out, licking an icecream cone in a teasing manner. Shinji blushed bright red, Asuka cursed, and Rei and Andrew just looked confused.

"Shinji-kun? Why are you acting as you are now?" Rei asked. "Do you require close contact?" Shinji blushed even harder at that, as Asuka's nostrils flared.

"WHAT? What was that, Third?"

"Er, um…" Shinji mumbled. Rei almost glowered at the Second.

"Shinji-kun and I have been comforting eachother physically for some time now," Rei confessed. "He seems tense at the moment." Actually, Rei had been sneaking into Shinji's room and sleeping next to him, which had seemed to keep him from having nightmares. It had also given Rei a profoundly warm feeling, especially when he wrapped his arms around her. Things after the twenty-first Angel had progressed back somewhat to where they were before, Shinji talking with her and being kind. But with the Second Child's return, Rei was wondering if this progress would be lost.

She was knocked out of her musings by a familiar scream of terror.

"ASUKA-SAN, IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Shinji yelped, running for his life as Asuka chased him, waving the wooden bat they were going to use on the watermelons Misato brought along.

"GET BACK HERE YOU PERVERT!" Rei stared after them, before turning to an equally perplexed Andrew.

"Are we not supposed to use the bat on the watermelon?"

"I think so," Andrew replied, blinking. "Guess we're not doing that now."

"Indeed," Rei spoke with the hint of a smile. For some reason, the fact that the Sixth Child was just as ill-informed of such things comforted her. Rei was suddenly struck by inspiration, though you wouldn't know it by looking at her.

"Pilot Stewart. Have you ever had ice cream?" Andrew shrugged.

"If I did, I don't remember it." Rei smiled, recalling the time Shinji made banana splits for desert.

"Come with me," the albino girl said quietly, turning and heading for the nearest food stand. Andrew followed, still watching Asuka chase Shinji. Rei paused, and looked at the American curiously.

"What is it?" Rei asked.

"I feel warm inside," Andrew answered. "But I don't think it's because of the heat." Rei turned and regarded the Sixth Child.

"What does it feel like?" Andrew looked thoughtful.

"Like… How I feel when I'm flying," he answered at last. A small smile broke on Rei's face.

"I believe you are feeling contentment, Pilot Stewart." Andrew blinked… Before smiling slightly back.

"It feels good." Rei recalled the happiness she felt simply by being with Shinji, and nodded as the feeling returned to her heart.

"Yes, it does."

* * *

_Sorry for the short chapter. Welp, next time's gonna get interesting, that's for sure. R&R!_

_And no, Andrew and Rei are NOT going to become a couple. They're bonding over the similarities in their lives._


	8. Chapter 8

_Great, I'm missing a math class to write this chapter. No wonder my grades suck, ne?

* * *

_

Shinji sighed, relaxing in the shade of his favorite cherry blossom tree on the campus. His SDAT playing his favorite tracks, his face held an expression of serenity that usually looked out of place on the despondent, reluctant savior of mankind.

Having Rei Ayanami sitting next to you, gently dozing, had a way of changing people, he decided. He opened one eye and looked at the lovely albino, her eyes closed as she leaned against the tree, and him, in the warm summer sun. He had to smile at the adorable scene.

It was the last day of classes. With the Angels continuing to come, school had been dismissed early this year, leaving Shinji with his favorite tree and as long as he wanted to enjoy it's peace and quiet. Rei, unexpectedly, had asked to join him, and he'd been more than happy to oblige her.

His all-too-fleeting sense of security and tranquility would have been shattered, had he known who was watching with angry, jealous eyes.

"That fucking slut!" Asuka hissed, watching the two with a pair of binoculars. She grit her teeth angrily. Concealed in the bushes, she didn't care that she resembled a character from a shoujo comedy manga. All she knew was that Shinji, her personal bitch, had been taking time out of pampering _her_ for that… that… _doll!_

And she couldn't do anything about it, because the aftereffects of the Twenty-First Angel had made her promise – _promise!_ – to share Shinji! Even worse, she'd _molested_ him! Under the table at a meeting no less!

At least he'd apparently forgotten. She would never live it done if he did. Asuka Langely Soryu did _not_ share, and she did _not_ make the first move. Shinji was supposed to crawl on his hands and knees and pleasure her first! Not be seduced by her crude teasing!

"Grrrr…"

Unknown to Asuka, she too was being watched. An auburn-haired girl, with green eyes, watched the redhead's continuing observations of the Third and First Children, and smiled. She giggled.

"Well… Isn't this interesting?" Mana Kirishima smirked.

* * *

"_So, tell me again why Stewart's the one who still gets the only flight system?"_ Touji asked, settling into his entry plug and breathing evenly. Next to Unit Three, Andrew Stewart frowned.

"_The other systems have not yet been completed."_ Touji rolled his eyes.

"_Oh yeah? Sure it doesn't have anything to do with your mom running the project in the first place?" _

In the control room, Misato hit the intercom button angrily.

"Shut up, Suzuhara, and do your goddamned job! Let us worry about that, allright?" There was silence, as the entire bridge and both pilots stared at the major.

"… _Roger that,"_ Touji said in a quiet, sullen tone. Stewart just stared back at Misato in the holowindow, looking perplexed but saying nothing. Misato sighed.

"We'll worry about that stuff later, allright? Hyuuga!"

"Uh, yes ma'am?" The tech replied nervously, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"Finish up the synch test, and then report back to me. I have a meeting with the Commander to attend to," Misato ordered flatly, before turning and stalking out the door of the Pribnow Box. Ritsuko, concerned, stood up herself.

"Maya, take over for me. I'll be right back." The faux blonde headed out and followed Misato, leaving Maya and Hyuuga to give eachother looks of befuddlement.

"_Man, is it that time of the month or what?"_ Touji grunted. Andrew, unsure of what that meant, opened a channel to Touji.

"_Touji, exactly what do you mean by that?"_

"_What are you, stupid? You know, it's that… That… That monthly bleeding that girls get!"_ Andrew blinked, and spoke something that the entire Pribnow Box crew gawked at.

"_Bleeding? Shouldn't she get that treated?"_ Touji, stupefied, felt his jaw drop to the bottom of the entry plug.

"… _Are all foreigners insane, or just foreign Eva pilots?"

* * *

_

"You will see to her lodgings then, Major?" Commander Ikari asked, in his patent-pending position behind his desk. Misato, long since rendered immune to the dreariness of the Commander's office, saluted smartly.

"Yes sir." Ikari nodded.

"Very well then. Dismissed." Misato turned and headed out, letting the door close behind her before letting out a huge sigh. She turned, and yelped.

"ACK!" Ritsuko raised an eyebrow as Misato panted, clutching at her heart.

"Don't _do_ that!" Misato snarled. Ritsuko didn't move.

"… What?"

"Exactly what's gotten into you lately? Are you channeling Asuka or something?" Ritsuko asked flatly. Misato sighed, and shook her head.

"I'm guessing you heard about the Seventh Child?" Ritsuko blinked.

"That's what's gotten you so tightly wound? Another pilot? I should think it would make things a bit easier on you." Misato began walking, and Ritsuko kept pace next to her.

"Easier? It just means one more goddamned kid I have to send out against these monsters!" Misato growled. "Or, hell, she could be _another_ Angel! We've had four Angels already trying to infiltrate NERV as pilots!"

"Would you relax? She's definitely _not_ an Angel," Ritsuko huffed. Misato turned and grabbed the startled doctor by her collar.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE LAST FOUR!"

"Well in this case, I'm actually right!" Ritsuko seethed. "Now let me go already! God!" Misato, reluctantly, put the fake blonde down and crossed her arms under her breasts.

"Has Pen-Pen been hiding the beer again or what?" Ritsuko asked flatly. Misato held her head with a wince.

"Even worse… I… um…" Misato looked away balefully. Ritsuko crossed her arms.

"Yes?"

"… I kind of… Sort of… SnuckintoShinji'sbed,"Misato mumbled quickly. Ritsuko's green eyes widened.

"_YOU WHAT!"_

"It's not what you think! I didn't, I swear! It's just… I remember drinking one night, and when I wake up, I'm cuddled up to him!" Misato shook her head.

"My God Misato, what the hell is wrong with you! We've already gotten enough complaints from Social Services about using children as pilots!" Ritsuko screeched. "Now you're _sleeping_ with them?"

"Not SLEEPING! Well fine, _sleeping,_ as in, _not having sex,_ but that's all! Look Rits-chan, I know it's freaky and wrong and everything, but I don't know what to do!" She sighed and looked down at the floor.

"Besides… It was the best sleep I've had in years," she admitted guiltily. "He… He just, takes care of me, you know? And cares about me, in ways Kaji never did. And I care about him too." Ritsuko shook her head with a sigh.

"Misato, he's fourteen years old."

"And yet, old enough to fight and kill in a war for our very survival," Misato pointed out. Ritsuko gave her long-time friend a wry smile.

"If you didn't feel guilty about it, you wouldn't be so worked up about it."

Misato opened her mouth to protest… Before she closed it.

"You have a point…" Ritsuko shook her head.

"Look… If you feel lonely… I know some guys who are-"

"Damnit Ritsuko, this isn't about sex!" Misato snarled. "I'm just… Just lonely! Lonely, as in I need somebody, not I need somebody to _fuck,_ got it?" Turning away, the major stalked down the hallway, leaving Ritsuko to sigh. Her cell phone rang, and she picked it up.

"Yes? … No, she wouldn't go for it." Ritsuko listened for a few moments.

"Yes, we'll have to cancel the show. Don't worry though, I still have pictures of her from our college days that should make up for it…"

* * *

_Okay, next time: Mana is introduced, just as the Twenty-Second Angel appears. Of course, the real story is Ritsuko getting a migraine...  
_


	9. Chapter 9

_Gendo has… A cunning plan. Yes, I'm as scared as you are.

* * *

_

Hikari smiled gratefully as she wiped her forehead free of sweat, looking over the perfectly clean classroom.

"Thanks Stewart-san. It usually takes me forever to get this done on my own." The Sixth Child looked over his shoulder from putting the cleaning supplies back into the closet, and nodded politely at the class representative.

"It's not a problem, Class Representative." Standing up, he brushed the dirt from his hands and reached for his book bag. Hikari cleared her throat nervously, and the Eva pilot returned his attention to her.

"Er, Stewart-san? I was wondering… Would you… Like to walk me home?" She asked, blushing profusely. Andrew frowned.

"I'm afraid I have duties at NERV to attend to," he answered honestly. Hikari's face fell slightly.

"Oh… Um, maybe some other time?" Hikari asked. Andrew blinked slightly at her, then nodded.

"Certainly." With a wide smile, Hikari walked out of the classroom, leaving a rather confused Sixth Child. He pondered her behavior as he, too, walked out of the school and headed for NERV.

Abruptly, he felt himself grabbed by the shoulder and shoved into the wall of a building he was passing, and stared blankly into the glare of one Toji Suzuhara.

"Pilot Suzu-" He began, before Toji slammed him against the wall again.

"What the hell is your problem, Stewart-san?" The Fourth Child snarled. Andrew blinked, uncomprehendingly.

"You're making no sense, Pilot. Unhand me."

"Oh, acting all high and mighty outside NERV too, huh?" Toji sneered. "Just because they made you Head Pilot?"

"I'm not acting high and mighty. You are assaulting a superior officer," Andrew answered flatly. "It's a crime, Pilot. Something you don't want to commit."

"Shut the hell up!" Toji snarled. "You can't order me around! Not out here!" Toji bit his lip. "Just stay the hell away from Horaki, got it?" Andrew shook his head, honestly confused, which Toji took as defiance.

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER, GAIJIN!" Toji spat, throwing the Sixth Child to the pavement, before stalking off. Andrew got up slowly, rubbing the back of his head with a wince. He stood up, before opening up his cellphone and calling a number.

"Section 2. This is Head Pilot. Please increase monitoring on Pilot Suzuhara for the time being. Thank you." He hung up, and headed for NERV once more, feeling rather perturbed at the incident. Not to mention now having a bad headache.

* * *

Andrew entered the Commander's dark and foreboding office, stopping then standing at attention before Commander Ikari. He saluted the bearded man, and Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki standing at his side. A young girl was standing at the Commander's other side, something Andrew took note of.

"Reporting as ordered, sir." Gendo nodded, not bothering to tell Andrew to stand at ease, as was protocol. Andrew waited dutifully, before the commander at last spoke.

"Head Pilot Stewart, this is Mana Kirishima," Gendo said flatly, indicating the auburn-haired girl. Andrew stood at attention, and nodded respectfully to the girl, who smiled and nodded back.

"She is the Seventh Child, and designated pilot of Unit Zero Five. She has been trained with the JSSDF for combat." Gendo pushed up his orange-tinted shades and looked at Andrew with his piercing stare. "I trust you can handle her orientation and other duties?"

"Yes sir," Andrew responded. Gendo nodded, and leaned back into the shadows.

"Then get to work." Andrew nodded, and looked at Mana.

"This way?" He indicated the door as he turned and walked towards it. Mana followed, still smiling in a slightly unusual way. When they both exited, Fuyutsuki sighed and looked over at Gendo.

"Honestly Gendo, making him field leader was bad enough. Suzuhara had enough of a reaction to that… But making him Head Pilot? Don't you think you're ratcheting up the

tension a bit much?" Gendo smirked.

"Of course not. The Sixth was trained as an officer. He can and will handle the group and keep them fighting together."

"Isn't that a bit detrimental to the scenario?" Fuyutsuki asked dryly. Gendo didn't bother to look at the older man, instead leaning forward with his chin supported by his hands.

"The current scenario calls for… Reversing a number of our moves from before," Gendo allowed. He adjusted his glasses once more, idly musing that he needed a new prescription. "Until we can be sure that there are no more angels, we must keep our fighting force as intact as possible."

"While you keep them splintering on the inside with their romantic feelings and mental illnesses," Fuyutsuki observed. Gendo smirked, assuming his trademark position.

"Business as usual, sensei, business as usual…"

* * *

"Has anyone given you the basic rundown on the Evangelion you'll be piloting?" Andrew asked conversationally, as he and Mana walked down the corridor away from Ikari's office. Mana smiled and walked more closely to the American, a flirtatious expression on her face.

"I've been through the basic procedures," she said smoothly, "but no, not the specific machine."

"Yours will be Unit Five, essentially the same model series as Units Three and Four," Andrew informed her, as they reached an elevator. Andrew keyed in the destination as the Eva cages, raising an eyebrow at Mana's proximity. Mana nodded, sidling a bit closer to the Sixth Child.

"Really? What makes them different from the first three Evas?"

"Unit Zero is cycloptic, with enhanced communications and surveillance equipment," Andrew answered. "Unit One is heavily armored for close combat purposes. Unit Two's four eyes make it better suited for mid-range combat, due to its enhanced situational awareness. Units Three, Four, and Five are more or less standardized Evas, resembling Unit Two in most respects aside from the visual aspects." Mana nodded thoughtfully, still edging closer. Andrew shuffled away slightly, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"So, our Evas don't have any special features?" She asked with something akin to a pout. Andrew cleared his throat.

"They are… More flexible than the first three Evas, due to their modular construction," he stated carefully. "Much easier to maintain and repair. They are also all compatible with the Stewart Flight System."

"And yet, your Eva is the only one with the flight system installed," Mana noted, smiling at him in a way that reminded Andrew of a cat. "Is that because you're Head Pilot?"

"No. My Eva is simply the first to have been given the upgrade," Andrew replied politely, feeling the wall of the elevator against his back as Mana continued to close in. "Excuse me, Pilot Kirishima? I don't feel, er… Comfortable with you this close to me."

"What? Am I unattractive?" She pouted, pushing her breasts against his chest. Andrew frowned.

"Um… I am unsure as to what that has to do with the situation," he answered honestly. The elevator beeped as the doors opened, and Andrew politely pushed past Mana and walked out. Mana followed, her eyes narrowed.

_You won't escape that easily, Sixth Child,_ she thought with a smirk, knowing that fulfilling her mission would only be a matter of time.

_Why is everyone acting so strangely lately?_ Andrew wondered, finally making it to the Eva bays. He felt relief at being where he felt in control and informed, looking out over Unit Four. Unit Five, nearly identical to its sister unit in every way (save it's metallic blue coloring) stood in the next bay, restrained as technicians crawled over it.

"That's my Eva?" Mana asked, smiling as she took Andrew's hand. Andrew, blinking curiously, wasn't sure what to do about her grasp, so he turned his attention to Unit Five.

"Yes. It was built in the United States, at the NERV-02 Branch, the same site where Unit Four was assembled." Mana frowned.

"Are there going to be more Evas like ours coming?"

"Possibly. The United States wishes to finish an extended period of trials with Units Six and Seven, as well as find suitable pilots for them, before sending them to NERV-01," Andrew answered. Mana looked at Andrew with innocent curiosity.

"What do you think about that?" Andrew blinked, as though he didn't understand the question. Mana felt a twitch of irritation in her bosom. Her reports had indicated that the Sixth Child seemed slightly schizophrenic-Cool, detached and professional while carrying out his duties, but almost like the Third when off. Then again, considering the rest of the NERV staff, he might almost be considered normal.

"I am… Unsure of the wisdom of keeping all of the Evas in one place," Andrew answered at last, pushing Mana out of her musings. "Strategically, it would make more sense to keep Evas around the world, to cover any possible attack by the Angels."

"But they keep coming here, right? Why is that?" Mana asked. Andrew frowned thoughtfully.

"After the Second Impact, the Angel Adam that caused it was recovered and sealed in embryonic form. It was brought here for study, alongside the second Angel, Lillith, also held in this facility." Mana's eyes almost bugged out of her skull at this crucial intelligence.

"Really? So, the Angels attack here just to find Adam and start Third Impact?"

"To the best of our knowledge, yes. Lillith is kept here as a decoy for Adam, as their AT Field signatures are very similar. Again, however, we do not know why," Andrew replied. He shook his head. "However, the Angels have shown themselves capable of coming up with a variety of advanced attack strategies. They could easily attack other targets around the globe at will, destroying our support infrastructure so that we are easier to defeat." Mana raised an eyebrow.

"You try thinking like the Angels?"

"If I were an Angel, that's what I'd do," Andrew admitted. "Learning to think like your enemy, makes defeating them far easier." Mana smirked.

"I couldn't agree more," she purred, moving her face closer to his. Andrew began to blush, but he wasn't sure why. He was saved from further embarrassment as the Angel alarms began to blare. He looked at Mana, who looked back.

"Guess my first mission's a trial by fire, huh?" Mana asked with a grin. Andrew smiled slightly back at her.

"Looks like."

* * *

The huge, deformed monster vaguely resembled an Evangelion as it waded out of the Sea of Japan. If it had been crossed with a dinosaur. It's long, hideous snout was covered in black scales, it's mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, and it's long, supple tail covered in wicked-looking spines. Its eyes glowing blue-white, and the plates on it's back crackling with energy, it let loose a roar and a blast of fiery plasma from it's throat, devastating the countryside. It roared again, eerily reminiscent of a certain radiation-mutated monster famous throughout Japan.

"My God, and I thought I'd seen everything," Misato moaned, holding her head. "So, what's the call Rits-chan? This Godzilla, or an Angel?" Ritsuko rubbed her temple, feeling a migraine coming on.

"I dunno… Flip a coin. Heads it's the twenty-second Angel, tails its Godzilla."

"What if it lands on its edge, sempai?" Maya asked. Ritsuko made a note to take away all of Maya's Hello Kitty figurines on her desk, provided they survived this.

"Then I quit."

Somewhere in the city, a certain penguin slapped his brow as he watched the monster approach on TV, before going to the fridge to get some beer. He felt he was going to need it.

* * *

_Dun dun, dad a dun dunnnnnn! Beware the giant reptile Eva of DOOM! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!_


	10. Chapter 10

_Here we go, just in time for the Fourth of July. Which, in my country, has a far bloodier history than most people suspect.

* * *

_

Misato smiled at the assembled pilots, all in their plugsuits, sitting around the conference room table. Behind her was a projection of the Godzilla-Eva in realtime, as it stalked down a major highway, occasionally shooting fire out of it's mouth at anything that crossed it's path.

"Now then… Since Andrew-kun here is the new Head Pilot, he'll be helping me plan and execute operations. He'll also have the responsibility for giving you all the plan for how to deal with this Angel. So, without further ado, let's hand over the spotlight to Lieutenant Stewart!" Asuka mouthed "Lieutenant?" to Shinji in disbelief, to which the Third Child shrugged sheepishly. Rei sat quietly and watched the Sixth Child with a cool expression, while Toji glared at the head pilot murderously. Mana, clad in her very flattering purple plugsuit, sat with her fingers steepled and a smile on her face.

"Ahem… Thank you, major," Andrew stated. He turned to the appropriate page in his folder. "Initial analysis provided by Dr. Akagi, who is currently supervising repairs to the MAGI, reveal that this Angel appears to be another corrupted Evangelion. Radiological samples indicate that it's primary weapon, breathing fire, is fusion derived, and can put out enough gamma rays to melt a human on sight."

"So what are we gonna do about it?" Asuka asked impatiently. Andrew raised an eyebrow.

"… _Sir,_" the redhead added sarcastically. Andrew blinked, wondering how Asuka had known that he was going to call her on her breach of protocol, before continuing.

"Simple. All six Eva units will deploy to ambush the Angel at this location," Andrew stated, the screen behind him shifting to a topographical map of a mountain pass. "The Reiko Pass has two ordnance elevators at appropriate positions, through which we will deploy positron rifles." Andrew turned to the map, and pointed at two red X's on either side of the pass.

"Asuka, you, Mana, Toji and Rei will be deployed here, as Team A. Mana and Rei will be our gunners, using the positron rifles that will be deployed from the elevators. Asuka and Toji, your job will be to protect Rei and Mana. Asuka will be in command of this team." Asuka beamed at this.

"Yes sir!" Rei raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, as Andrew continued.

"Shinji, we will be Team B. Our job will be to attack the Angel and draw it to the appropriate ambush site. We'll be the bait, essentially." Andrew looked at Asuka again, missing the dirty look Toji shot him.

"Asuka, I want the Angels to be unaware of the fact that we now have six Evas for as long as possible. If you can kill the Angel by yourself, do so. I would prefer to keep Toji and Mana as our secret weapons. But don't engage unless you are sure you can defeat it." Asuka nodded and saluted with her usual confident grin.

"Yes sir! It'll be a piece of cake!" Andrew turned his attention to the table at large.

"Any questions?" There were none.

"Then let's get to it."

* * *

"_Ha! I'm going to kick that Angel's ass! You guys might as well take naps!"_ Toji grit his teeth, glaring hatefully at the silvery form of Unit Four on his screens.

"_Asuka, cut the chatter. Maintain radio silence please," _Andrew replied calmly, his Eva leading the pack as they reached the pass. Toji's hand balled into a fist, and there was a hint of bemusement in the back of his mind.

"Oh come off it, he's being a bastard," Toji protested to his sister/Eva. "He presumed to give orders when he first got here! Now, just because he's the official field commander, he thinks he can take my girl?"

A feeling of exasperation permeated the entry plug.

"Don't do that! You know he's a jerk! You must talk to his Eva, right?"

The Eva seemed extremely amused, which just made Toji grit his teeth harder. He stopped at the designated point, and crouched down, using the mountains for cover. Nearby, Mana's Unit Five picked up its positron rifle from the hidden ordnance elevator. His Eva's eyes tracked Asuka and Rei in much the same position, nearly a mile away. Between them was the huge pass, highways and railroads running through it.

_Stuck up bastard, heading off to get all the glory,_ Toji mentally grumbled. His Eva seemed to roll its eyes.

_Boys,_ it seemed to say.

* * *

Mana kept her eyes on Unit Four as it walked carefully, its pallet rifle primed and ready. It fell into a crouch just outside of the pass, Unit One stopping behind it.

"_Andrew-san? Er, sir?"_ Shinji asked quietly over the radio.

"_Sorry. Force of habit,"_ Andrew replied. "_MRS."_ Mana nodded to herself, recognizing the acronym for "Maintain Radio Silence". She was slightly surprised that Shinji followed the order, not speaking up again.

_Guess he's been trained better than we thought,_ she mused. She smiled slightly. _I'll have to check up on him as well. He at least looks like he can blush._

Her feed from Unit One's cameras showed the approaching figure of the Angel, its gait predatory and saurian. Its huge sharp teeth glistened in the sunlight, as did the monster's long killing claws and sharp, unpleasant-looking back spikes.

"That is one ugly freak," Mana commented, shaking her head. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on her positron rifle. The techs had been surprised that she could reach and maintain a synch ratio of 36 her first time in the entry plug. She's been surprised, too, but more at the intensity of the sensations in a real Eva. She'd only practiced before on "misplaced" test bodies her organization had appropriated for her use.

The Angel fired a burst of radioactive fire at the two Evas, which missed. Unit Four opened fire with its pallet rifle, while Unit One advanced with it's sword, striking at the Angel, which dodged the strike. It swung its tail around, howling in pain as Shinji managed to cut off its tip while ducking. Shinji extended his AT-field, allowing Andrew's shots to get through and blast several holes in the Angel's flesh. It howled again as it's eyes began to glow bright red.

_What the…?_ Mana wondered, just before powerful beams of energy lanced out of the Angel's eyes, striking Unit Four in the chest and making it stagger back.

"_Andrew!"_ Shinji cried out over the radio, before he took was blasted away by the Angel's heat vision.

"_Fall back! I'll cover you!"_ Andrew ordered Shinji, opening fire again on the Angel and attracting it's attention back on him. Shinji threw up an AT-Field, knocking the creature back, as he scrambled back for the pass, Andrew getting up and walking backwards as he continued to fire his rifle on the Angel. Its AT-Field back in place, the Angel roared and rushed for Andrew, his shots now having no effect.

"_Aw, damnit,"_ he cried out as the monster caught him in the face with a blast of radioactive fire. "_AUUUGHHHH!"_

"_Hang on, I'm coming!"_ Asuka yelled.

"_Stand by!"_ Andrew ordered, throwing an AT-Field pulse of his own to slow down the Angel as he scrambled back to his feet and rushed into the pass. Roaring in rage, the Angel followed, shooting blasts of radioactive fire after the silver Eva.

"_Stand by!"_ Andrew shouted again, the silver Eva and the Angel pursuing it finally coming into visual range. Mana locked onto the target with her rifle, waiting.

"_Allright… Asuka, now!"_ The red Eva leapt out of its hiding place, kicking the Angel in the face and sending it sprawling. Unit One stopped it's "escape" and turned back, sprinting at high speed before slamming against the Angel, his prog sword neatly slicing off it's head.

"_Rei! Fire!"_ The hidden blue Eva fired her positron rifle, neatly blasting through the Angel's chest. It staggered back, fumbling for it's head.

"_Shinji, Asuka! Hit it!"_ Shinji swung his sword, chopping off the monster's upper torso. Asuka threw her prog knife into its belly, before launching and sending it through the Angel's entire body with a kick. Andrew fired his pallet rifle into the still-moving body, great red spurts of blood flying up from the hits. He paused, the three Evas standing around and watching the mangled corpse.

"… _Yup, you guys got the core. Well done, everyone!"_ Misato congratulated over the radio. Asuka whooped loudly in victory, while Toji mumbled to himself in tones too low for the radio to pick up. Mana smirked slightly.

"Great. Am I going to be backup every mission from now on?" Andrew's face appeared in her screen, shrugging in a utilitarian way.

"_Misato came up with the mission. I just suggested we try to keep you guys a secret from the Angels as long as possible. Besides, now we can have a reserve unit that doesn't have to fight unless we have no other choice."_ Misato beamed.

"_Right you are, Andy-kun!"_ The Sixth Child blinked at that.

"_Major, please don't call me that."_

"_Aw, but it's so cute! Shin-chan doesn't complain when I call him by his cute nickname!"_ Shinji blushed. Andrew shook his head.

"_It's against protocol, ma'am, unless it's my callsign."_ Misato grinned.

"_Maybe we should make it your callsign, ne?"_

"_Hey! Enough fawning over the Head Pilot! All he had to do was run and shoot!"_ Asuka snorted. "_The baka didn't even put up his AT-Field when he had to!"_

"_Sorry," _Andrew apologized. "_I wasn't paying attention. Asuka, perhaps you could help me train to cast a protective AT-Field while I'm moving? I have yet to master it."_

"_Hey pal! Quit taking the women!"_ Toji complained.

"_Excuse me? I don't understand you, Pilot Suzuhara,"_ Andrew replied honestly. Toji snarled.

"_You're so full of-!"_

"_Now that's enough, all of you!"_ Misato ordered firmly. "_Mission accomplished, come home. You guys can spray the ground with testosterone later."_

"_I was not spraying the ground with testosterone, sir,"_ Andrew protested in his formal tone. "_Pilot Suzuhara's behavior has been very unbecoming of a pilot as of late."_

"_Can we just not fight guys? We won, after all. The plan worked,"_ Shinji pointed out.

"_For once, baka's right. I'm the best, so there's no need for you to pick petty squabbles over this schiest,"_ Asuka groused. "_Now, let's go home! I'm starving!"_

On a hill overlooking the Evas, a lone penguin sipped a beer. He burped loudly, before covering his beak with his flipper and shuffling off.

* * *

_Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?_

_Next time: Mana starts school. Andrew starts PT training for the pilots (Joy). Misato gets a promotion! Ritsuko gets stoned!_

_All this and more, next chapter!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Here we go again… Damnit Hamstadini, hurry up and finish your next chapter man!_

… _Kettle calling the oven black… Or something like that…

* * *

_

"Allright class, I'd like you all to say hello to our new student, Mana Kirishima," the teach of class 2-A stated boredly, as the girl in question nodded and smiled from the front of the classroom. Most of the guys in the class began talking excitedly amongst themselves, which naturally annoyed most of the girls.

"I'm Mana Kirishima. It's very nice to meet you all!" Mana giggled girlishly, making the boys gawk and whisper about her all the more. As well as making all the girls glare harder, hoping to make her combust.

_Damnit! Not another new bitch!_ Hikari thought, frustrated. While Hikari truly did consider Asuka a friend, and did admire her, she had to admit she was difficult sometimes.

"Why are all the boys gawking at her? I've got bigger boobs!" Asuka gloated quietly. Hikari rolled her eyes.

Okay, difficult a _lot_ of the time.

"Oh great, now she's sitting next to Baka Shinji and Officer Dumbass," Asuka sneered, as Mana took her seat and winked at both Shinji and Andrew. The Third Child blushed embarrassedly, while Andrew, not understanding the significance of the gesture, shrugged and winked back. Mana giggled even more girlishly.

"Ooooh!" Hikari's pencil began moving of its own accord across her paper. Asuka snorted.

"She's such a ditz. She's been hanging off those two all the time she's been at NERV," the redhead grumbled. "Her laughter is really starting to piss me off."

"Wait, what?" Hikari asked, pausing in her doodling. Asuka shook her head at the inanity of it all.

"That Kirishima whore's always taking the Stooge's hands or arms, or 'accidentally' bumping her boobs against them or making stupid innuendos…" Asuka began ranting on Mana's numerous shortcomings, flaws, and fashion sense, before speculating upon her vaginal health and promiscuity. Many of the other girls in the classroom eagerly listened and nodded, while a number of the boys looked either disappointed or incredulous.

_Damnit damnit damnit… That evil, man-stealing slut!_ Hikari thought furiously, pausing her doodling every few moments to shoot Mana a deathglare. The auburn-haired girl, having a spirited conversation with Shinji and Andrew, completely missed the class representative's dirty looks.

_She's seducing them even now! But wait… Didn't I have a crush on Touji?_ Hikari pondered this, before looking over at said Eva pilot/Fourth Child. He was typing and grinning on his computer, in time with a few cheerleaders at the back of the classroom's giggles. Hikari's furor rose.

_I don't need him! Jerk! Off banging the athletes…_ Her gaze, again, returned to Mana, laughing quietly at something Shinji had said and was now smiling slightly at. Andrew, too, was smiling in his oddly sad way.

_Oh… I shouldn't do this! I'm lusting after two boys! _A number of images flooded her brain at that, causing a small trickle of blood to emerge from her nose.

_ACK! Why the hell am I thinking this kind of stuff?_

Towards the back of the classroom, a platinum-blonde girl with eyes that were brilliant blue looked up from a yaoi fanfiction site. She smirked slightly, her eyes shifting color to yellow, before she resumed reading.

_Damn, I bet she's making them her slaves this instance! You evil succubus!_ Hikari thought viciously.

"Hikari?"

_That bitch… I'm going to kill her…_ Hikari's hand began to reach for a freshly-sharpened pencil.

"Hikari? Hello?"

_I'll take her out… Be a martyr! Maybe Shinji and Andrew will have a threesome with me when I'm in juvie!_ Hikari thought, a manic gleam in her eyes.

"HIKARI!"

"WHAT!" Hikari shrieked. She then blinked. Asuka, the one who had yelled, blinked back… Along with the rest of the class. Hikari noticed that she was standing up, the pencil in her hand held like a throwing knife.

"Is there a problem, Class Representative?" The teacher asked flatly. Hikari blushed.

"Ah, er, no! No problem, really! Just, um… I'm feeling a bit under the weather, may I be excused?" The teacher shrugged, and pointed to the door. Hikari, still blushing furiously, hurriedly walked out into the hallway.

Asuka took this opportunity to grab Hikari's notebook and look over her doodles. The German girl's brows rose.

"'Mana being crushed by an Angel,'" Asuka read quietly, feeling a bit perturbed that her best friend had quite accurately drawn Kirishima being crushed to death by the foot of what appeared to be the twenty-first Angel. Not to mention labeled it.

"'Mana being raped to death by Eva Unit 1,'" Asuka read next, and shuddered. She was secretly glad the Angels hadn't switched to such tactics. Now morbidly curious, she flipped the page and looked over the smaller but still very detailed doodles: Mana being vaporized by a positron blast, Mana being chopped to pieces by a samurai, Mana being ground into fish paste and being fed to… Asuka looked more closely.

"… Is that the Prime Minister?" Asuka shuddered again, before turning the page again. Asuka frowned heavily.

This drawing was much more detailed than the previous ones, depicting Mana in a parka with a hood that obscured most of her face, just leaving her eyes visible. It looked as though she'd been shot repeatedly, her torso and chest gaping, bloody holes. Nearby, a caricature of Andrew, dressed in winter clothing said, "Oh My God, they killed Mana!" Next to him, a caricature of Shinji, also dressed for winter, replied, "You bastards!"

"… Um, Sensei? May I go to the nurse's office as well? My period's pretty bad right now," Asuka requested. Most of the boys in the class snickered.

"What's the difference?" Whispered Kensuke, who soon had Asuka's foot striking him right in the face.

"Shut your mouth, you fucking geek!" Asuka bellowed. She turned back to the teacher.

"As you can see, I really need some medication to help with my period," Asuka stated with a small smile. The teacher nodded.

"You're excused."

Asuka rushed out, leaving the entire class to stare after her.

"… So, what were we talking about?"

Shinji asked. Mana smiled sweetly.

"We were just discussing Andrew's group exercise idea," she supplied.

Shinji nodded.

"Oh! Right, right. So, uh, Andrew, how does it work?"

"Well, in the Air Force, groups of soldiers would exercise together to build unity and endurance. I think that such activities here would be very beneficial," Andrew explained. Shinji frowned.

"Why don't you just start it up yourself?"

"Because I'm just the Head Pilot. I need Major Misato's approval for such activities," Andrew said.

Shinji blinked.

"Why?"

Andrew shrugged.

"It's protocol. I'm in charge of leading the pilots in battle, helping Misato with paperwork, and keeping you guys together. I can come up with ideas, but require Misato's permission to execute them."

Mana smirked.

"The wonders of bureaucracy, huh Lieutenant?"

Andrew shrugged.

"We need it to administer and manage our operations. While sometimes slow, it's better to have it than no organization at all."

Mana pouted.

"You don't seem like the kind of guys to follow the rules," the Seventh Child observed in a sultry tone. Andrew and Shinji both blinked at eachother.

"Er… Sure we do," Shinji said at last.

"Yeah. They're there for a reason, after all," Andrew added.

Mana shook her head with a warm smile, while inside she felt like screaming.

_God, are these guys neutered or something? Why aren't they getting any of this?

* * *

_

"Hikari, normally I'd support you being more assertive, but er…" Asuka held up her friend's notebook. "I'm not sure this kind of stuff helps."

Hikari blinked at Asuka, shifting on the cot she sat on. "I can't help it! That Mana girl… For some reason, whenever I see her, I feel this overwhelming urge to kill her, then take Shinji and Andrew as my sex slaves." Asuka blinked. Hikari blinked.

"… Hikari? When was the last time you masturbated?"

The class representative blushed furiously.

"_Asuka!"_

"Hikari, I think you're all nutty because you're sexually frustrated," Asuka continued blithely. "Especially if you're fantasizing about _those_ two."

"But aren't you fantasizing about Shinji too?" Hikari asked.

Asuka flushed.

"That's-! That's completely different! Shinji's my bitch! He does whatever the hell I tell him to do! I don't give a damn about some girl trying to entice him, because I'll kick his ass if he tries anything! He's a wuss!"

"What about Andrew?"

Hikari asked.

Asuka snorted.

"He doesn't even know what sex is!"

Hikari gasped.

"What? How?"

"His brain got scrambled by his Eva, so now he's like some bizarre, sheltered Catholic kid or something," Asuka huffed. "He doesn't blush when he goes out and gets tampons for us!" Hikari's eyes widened.

"He… He doesn't?"

"No. It's the creepiest thing I've ever seen. It's like he's a robot! But anyway, Hikari, we need to help you with your homicidal sexual tendencies. It's not good for you," Asuka sniffed, completely missing Hikari's sweatdrop at the irony.

"Er, right Asuka…"

"By the way… What's with this last one?" Asuka asked, pointing at the cartoon of Mana dying in a parka with Shinji and Andrew as witnesses. Hikari shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know… It just came to me…"

The platinum-blonde girl back in the classroom sneezed.

* * *

_Dun dun, dah dah dun dunnnn!_

_Next Time: The new Angel continues to manipulate the children of Tokyo-3, and drop more South Park references into the story. Can our heroes defeat this mood-eye menace? Guess we'll have to wait and see…_


	12. Chapter 12

_You'll be wanting your money back after this chapter._

…_Wait. You didn't pay to read this story? Then what the hell am I talking about?

* * *

_

Shinji frowned at the textbook lying on his lap open before him, chewing his bottom lip. He sighed and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling.

"God, I don't get any of this," he grumbled. Next to him, Andrew sat typing on a laptop. Shinji turned to his fellow Eva pilot.

"Hey, Andrew? You know anything about, uh… Dangling modifiers in English?" Andrew shrugged.

"No." Shinji blinked, then nodded, turning back to his textbook.

"Ah, right…"

"Sorry." Shinji shrugged.

"It's all right… What are you working on?" Andrew paused in his typing, and gave Shinji his full attention.

"Mission reports. I've submitted them to the commanders and Major Katsuragi, per regulations. This one is on our last training exercise." Shinji winced.

"Er… Sorry about that…"

"For what?"

"Well, I did kind of shoot you." Andrew blinked.

"That was one of the mission requirements." Shinji flushed.

"Er, well…" Andrew raised an eyebrow.

"For an ace pilot, you certainly don't act like one," he commented. Shinji grimaced.

"I hate Eva… I don't want to be a pilot, but I… I have to." Andrew blinked.

"Why?" Shinji looked down at the floor, feeling a bit sheepish.

"Because… Because someone else would have to. And I can't let that happen." Shinji looked up and gave the American a cautiously curious look.

"Why… Why do you pilot?" Andrew blinked.

"… Because it's my duty," he stated simply. Shinji shook his head.

"No, no, I mean, why did you _choose_ to pilot?" The American looked thoughtful.

"As I don't remember the events that led up to my becoming a pilot, I can't really say." Shinji flushed again.

"Ah, damnit! Sorry, sorry! I forgot, sorry!" Andrew frowned.

"Shinji, you didn't do anything wrong. There's no need to apologize." Shinji shook his head.

"Er… Okay… I guess…"

"However, if you mean why do I continue to pilot, then that I can answer," Andrew suggested. Shinji nodded.

"Sure, I guess…"

"In one sense, it's all I have left," Andrew began philosophically. "All I can remember from the accident is my training. And it would seem wasteful to not use it." Shinji nodded as Andrew continued.

"On the other hand… Though I can't know for sure, I think that, if the accident had not occurred with Unit Four, I would still be piloting." Shinji blinked.

"Why? I don't understand."

"Neither do I," Andrew replied. "It feels… It feels like I am on the right path, for lack of a better term. That I am where I'm supposed to be. It's not remotely logical, but… It's better than feeling like I'm in the wrong place." Andrew shrugged, shaking his head helplessly. "Is that normal?"

"I really don't know," Shinji answered, considering the textbook once more. The Japanese boy chewed his lip once more.

"I have put in recommendations for you to be commended officially for your actions," Andrew spoke out of the blue. Shinji blinked.

"Uh… Thanks?"

"Unfortunately, since you're not an official member of a military organization, it's difficult to have you recognized," Andrew continued, resuming typing on his laptop. Shinji nodded slowly.

"Uh… That's okay…" Andrew shook his head.

"No, it's not Shinji. Believe me, if it were up to me, you'd have been promoted to captain by now. You'd have the Congressional Medal of Honor at the very least, not to mention other decorations by the JSSDF." A hint of irritation arose in the usually composed boy's eyes.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how to continue serving under your father's command. He has no regard for proper protocol, has violated several statutes of the UN Military Code of Justice, and mistreats his subordinates." Shinji nodded.

"How did he get command of NERV anyway?" Andrew shrugged.

"No idea. Probably close ties to the backers of NERV who wanted a civilian running things." Andrew snorted. "The civilian leaders are supposed to tell us who and what to fight, not how."

"Us?"

"The military. It's established Western philosophy. The military is under the command of the civilian government, but our every action is not dictated by them. The civilian government is supposed to run the country, while the military defends it." Andrew leaned back, his eyes narrowing.

"Your father isn't a soldier. He was never trained as one. He doesn't get why we need live-fire exercises. He doesn't understand why we need official commissions and recognition from the nations we're protecting. He doesn't give a damn about lives lost or collateral damage." Andrew crossed his arms and closed his eyes, his teeth gritting.

"He makes me angry." Shinji gawked at this incredible understatement.

"… Me too," Shinji admitted. Andrew sighed.

"Unfortunately, no one has taken my requests for his reassignment seriously." Shinji almost felt like laughing.

"Uh, heh, yeah…"

"Geez Sixth, you just now figured that out?" Asuka snapped, stalking out of the kitchen in shorts and a T-shirt. Andrew blinked.

"Of course not. I was merely making conversation." Andrew shrugged. Asuka snorted.

"God, you are all such social retards!" With a huff, Asuka stormed off to her room. Her door slammed behind her.

"She's been acting oddly lately," Andrew commented. Shinji shook his head and sighed.

"Yeah."

"Always seems to get worse once a month," Andrew noted further. Shinji blushed.

"Er, well, yes."

"Why is that?" Shinji gawked at him.

"What? You don't know?" Andrew shook his head.

"No. Do you?" Shinji flushed.

"Uh… Well… Yes, I do." Andrew looked expectantly at Shinji. Shinji blinked.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well, why won't you explain to me why she acts like that once a month," Andrew prompted.

"What? I can't do that!"

"Why?"

"Er, because… I… I just can't!"

Andrew blinked in confusion.

"Why?" Shinji grimaced.

"I, er… I just… I can't, okay! Ask Misato or something!" Andrew shrugged.

"Allright." The American boy stood up and headed for the kitchen. Shinji recalled his last words… Before shooting up off the couch and to the kitchen.

"No Andrew, wait! Don't!" Andrew turned back and looked at him curiously. Misato put down her beer and looked at Shinji strangely.

"Shinji? What are you doing?"

"Uh… I need… Andrew's help with… Something! Yeah!" Shinji stated haphazardly, pulling the confused American out of the kitchen and back to the "Dormitory" part of the apartment.

"Shinji… I must admit, my understanding of Japanese culture probably isn't what it should be, but-" Andrew began.

"Uh, Andrew! Let's play chess!" Shinji gasped. Andrew blinked.

"I… have a chess set?"

"You have to!"

"… Uh, okay." Andrew went into his room, and rummaged about. Shinji sighed and shook his head.

"God…"

* * *

"So, this is your office?" The platinum-haired girl asked innocently. Gendo nodded, a disturbing smile on his face.

"Oh yes, it is."

"It's so dreary," the girl complained cutely. "Why don't we paint it pink?" Gendo nodded, his eyes glazed.

"Certainly. Whatever you want Victoria."

"I also want my own quarters with a big screen TV, because I need it to entertain my fragile mind."

"Of course dear," Fuyutsuki droned. Victoria sighed.

"And, Uncle Gendo? What I'd really like, more than anything else, is to rule the world. Can you help me?" Gendo blinked, and smiled broadly.

"Certainly dear! I'll have the pilots rounded up so they can get right on that."

"Thank you dear," Victorica beamed. "Oh, my gigantic Eva mobile armor of doom is going to be descending now. Can you make sure nobody shoots it down, Uncle Gendo?"

"Of course, dear." Victoria giggled.

"Who says cuteness doesn't get you anywhere these days?"

* * *

_Dun dun, dun dun da dunnnn!_

_To be continued. You guys must be thrilled._


	13. Chapter 13

_Does the Plugsuit Make me Look Fat?_

_Proud to be your last resort for Eva fics.

* * *

_

Andrew emerged from his room, his hands empty. He looked around the hallway.

"Shinji, I couldn't find a chess set," he began. "Maybe we could play something else…?" He turned to see Shinji staring out the window at the end of the dormitory hallway. The American walked up behind him, frowning.

"Shinji? What are you doing?" Shinji turned to look at the American with wide eyes, before turning back to the window. He held up a finger and pointed outwards. Andrew followed with his gaze, and found his own eyes widening.

"… Why aren't the alarms going off?" For above the city floated a gigantic, white, glowing structure, resembling the 15th Angel. White orbs slowly orbited the core of the Angel, as feather-like projections waved slightly in the wind. Shinji shook his head.

"I… I don't know! It's right there, why isn't anyone reacting to it but us?"

"I'm not sure," Andrew murmured, his brow creasing in thought. Something about the Angel… It's resemblance to the 15th… It seemed to be lurking just out of his mind, almost reachable, but not quite…

"Hello, Maya?" Shinji had gotten out his cell phone and held it to his ear. In a single moment, Andrew grabbed the phone and shut it off. Shinji gawked stupidly at his empty hand, then back to the phone in the American's hand.

"Shinji, if the city's not reacting… Then the Angel has some kind of influence over them," Andrew explained. "If we let NERV know that we're not affected…?" Andrew waited until he saw the familiar light of understanding enter Shinji's eyes. _Good. He gets it._

"Does this mean the entire city could be turned against us?" Shinji asked quietly. Andrew nodded grimly.

"What better weapon for the Angels than our own people?" Andrew rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We need to get to our Evas, and take that thing out." Shinji nodded in agreement.

"We need to get the other pilots too." The front door opened, and the two boys stiffened, ready to move.

"Andrew! Shinji! I'm home!" Shinji gave Andrew a questioning look. The American nodded, and began walking towards the living room. Shinji followed.

Misato stood in front of the TV, smiling brightly. "Hey you guys! It's time for some synch tests!" Pen Pen waddled into the kitchen, and looked up at Misato with a penguin expression of disbelief. Misato continued to smile brightly.

"Er… Misato-chan… Wouldn't you like to have a beer first?" Shinji suggested innocently. Misato shook her head.

"Oh no, I couldn't do that! I have to drive you guys after all and-HEY!" Pen-Pen had moved the moment Misato shook her head, and now had the major's gun pointed at her purple head. Misato gawked at her pet.

"Pen Pen, what are you-Hey!" Pen Pen had chambered a round and kept the pistol pointed at Misato's head. Andrew and Shinji could only stare as the penguin held their guardian hostage.

"Wark! Wark wark!" Pen Pen squawked, shooting the two boys a significant look, then pointing his beak at the door. Andrew moved for the exit to the apartment while Shinji followed.

"Boy! No! Don't leave me here! Help! Pen-Pen's gone crazy! Help!" Misato shrieked, being cut off as Andrew shut the door behind them. Shinji and Andrew stood there for a few moments.

"… Do I want to ask what happened back there?" Andrew posed. Shinji shook his head vehemently. The Sixth Child nodded.

"Allright then. Let's get to NERV. I just hope the other pilots are safe."

* * *

Asuka had taken some rudimentary driving lessons back in Germany, before being transferred to Japan. Mana could tell this because the redhead had so far managed to keep them from running over any pedestrians.

_SMASH!_

"Soryu, that was a fucking stop sign!" Mana cried out, gripping onto the dashboard of the car they'd 'borrowed' from Section 2 as Asuka swerved violently through a crowded intersection. In the backseat, Rei sat serenely, as though they weren't being chased by armed Section 2 agents while a mad girl was driving.

"So? We can't exactly stop now can we?" Asuka snarled. "Now shut up so I can focus!" Mana squeaked in fear as Asuka clipped a ramen cart, barely avoiding the driver. She'd seen his eyes bug out as they approached. She could tell that they were hazel.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_ The sound of gunfire was clearly heard, even over the honking horns of the cars they passed and the wind rushing around them. Asuka and Mana both ducked at the sound, but had yet to hear any broken glass, signaling a hit.

"Scheist, these guys are lousy shots," Asuka griped. "It's a wonder we're not all dead from their incompetence."

"It's a wonder we're not dead yet from your driving!" Mana screeched. Asuka laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, right! I'm a way better driver than Misato, and she still hasn't gotten _us_ killed!" Mana looked back at the First Child, who shrugged.

"Major Katsuragi does indeed drive much more recklessly than the Second," the albino confirmed. Mana felt a headache coming on.

"Allright, allright! That's not important right now. What we should focus on, is why Section 2 is after us in the first place!" Mana couldn't help but feel a bit miffed. She'd taken the other female pilots out shopping in an effort to gain their trust. Having her carefully thought out and orchestrated shopping trip meet with disaster was definitely not part of the scenario.

Plus, getting shot at just really made Mana cranky.

"Considering that they are not attacking the Angel above the city, it seems likely the Angel is exerting mental control over everyone within range," Rei surmised. "However, because we have developed a greater resistance to neural interference thanks to our Evangelions, we cannot be so compromised."

"Damn right! We're no weak minded fools!" Asuka confirmed, honking the horn at a bus as she blasted past it, scraping the car's left side against it. Mana felt sick as she saw the metal skin of the bus rush past her, centimeters away from her face.

"Can you try to not get us killed? The Section 2 guys are more than enough of a threat right now!" Mana growled. Asuka shook her head and sighed.

"Don't be such a baby! God! You whine more than Shinji!" Rei leaned forward.

"Asuka, are we not going to retrieve Shinji and Lieutenant Stewart?" The albino asked. Asuka gritted her teeth.

"Of course we are! What, do you think I'd leave them to get shot? Which they will, if they don't have us looking after them." The German pilot rolled her eyes. "They are so utterly hopeless." Mana looked forward, and her breath hitched.

"STOP! STOP!" Asuka slammed on the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt an uncomfortable two or three centimeters from Andrew and Shinji's legs. The two male pilots stared in disbelief at the three female ones in the car.

"WELL, WHAT ARE YOU STANDING THERE FOR! GET IN!" Asuka roared. The sound of her window being struck by a fist jerked her head to her right. An elderly businessman stared at her through the window, before pulling back his briefcase and slamming it against the window.

"Holy Scheist!" Asuka squawked, as more pedestrians began to close in around the car. Asuka quickly shifted the gears, and drove forward, forcing Andrew and Shinji to climb onto the hood as Asuka picked up speed.

"Asuka! ASUKA!" Andrew shouted, clinging to the hood of the car as best he could with one hand. The other was pulling a horrified-looking Shinji against him, keeping the Third Child from tumbling off the car.

"Asuka! We have to stop and let them in!" Mana shouted.

"We cannot," Rei stated in a hurt tone. Mana looked out the windows and saw that, the moment they passed by, the crowds on the street began to turn and run after them. The auburn-haired girl gulped.

"Uh… Anywhere safe we can stop?"

"_ASUKA!"_ Shinji and Andrew screamed, muffled by the windshield. Asuka looked thoughtful.

"Like a safehouse? How about it, Wondergirl?" Rei leaned forward.

"If NERV has been compromised, then there is no place unknown to the Angel," Rei stated matter of factly. "However, there are places they would not expect us to be." Asuka raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? Like what?"

Rei's lip twitched slightly.

* * *

"I'm going to kill you, Wondergirl."

Andrew closed his eyes and prayed to whatever deity listening for patience, before opening them and looking through the plastic visor of his gas mask. Next to him, Mana adjusted her gas mask strap and checked the map they had of the sewer system with a flashlight.

Both paid little mind to the sewage stream they were standing in. Behind them, Rei stopped, bringing Asuka and Shinji (all decked out in gas masks and very high rubber boots) to a stop as well.

"You have said that on several occasions, Pilot Soryu," Rei answered, a faint hint of sarcasm in her voice. "You have yet to carry out your threat."

"Oh I will. Make no mistake," Asuka returned in an eerily calm voice. She turned to Shinji. "What the hell do you see in this girl anyway! How could you date a girl who thinks that hiding out in the sewers is a good idea!"

"It is a good idea," Andrew stated flatly, making the three lagging pilots look ahead at his back. "Nobody comes here if they don't absolutely have to." Andrew turned to Mana, who nodded and smiled behind her mask.

"Not to mention, it's a great way to get into NERV undetected," Mana added. Rei's eyes crinkled ever so slightly, while Asuka continued to fume. Shinji was still gagging from the last questions Asuka had asked. Well, that or his gas mask wasn't working.

"Through the sewers. God, this is worse than a manual launch!" Asuka groaned, stepping gingerly through the muck. "Even with this stuff we grabbed it's horrific!"

"You can't smell it, it's not touching you," Mana listed, continuing ahead with Andrew at her side. "You should try being in a tear gas chamber for a few minutes without gas masks." Andrew nodded.

"That will give you a whole new definition of unpleasant," the American concurred. Asuka snorted.

"Hmph… Military. Always stick together."

"That is how they were trained," Rei noted. Asuka bristled.

"I didn't ask you, Wondergirl!"

* * *

Shinji pulled off his mask and took a deep breath, the cool, clean air feeling wonderful against his sweaty hot face. He looked around the dark room they'd come up in, making out various shelves and boxes but nothing more distinct with the lack of overhead lights.

"Mien Gott, glad that's over with," Asuka huffed, tossing her foul-smelling boots back through the maintenance hatch and into the sewer duct. The other pilots had followed suit, not really wanting to carry the footwear around and try to get them washed.

"According to the guide, this is an armory on sub-level fifty two," Mana stated quietly. She stood next to Andrew, reminding Shinji of how Fuyutsuki stood next to his father. Shinji grimaced at that. He didn't want to think about the bastard king right now.

"All right… We need to get to our Evas and take out that Angel," Andrew began. He looked over at Rei, who had been standing next to one of the weapons racks. "Ayanami, can you lead us to the bays?"

"I am afraid it's not that simple," Rei replied. She hesitated, and looked over at Shinji a moment, before continuing. "The Angel appears to already be in NERV."

"What?" Everyone asked simultaneously. Rei held Shinji's gaze as she explained.

"I can sense that the core of the Angel is already here in NERV. The construct above the city would seem to be the Angel's body. But, whatever is powering and controlling it is within NERV."

"Can you give us a precise location?" Andrew asked. Rei closed her eyes.

"… The command deck. I believe the Angel's core is in a human-like form," the albino reported. Mana grimaced.

"Great… So if we try to attack the command deck, the Angel's body comes down and kills us all?" The auburn-haired girl asked. Rei frowned slightly, which Shinji knew was a full-blown scream of frustration in the First Child's case.

"That is a likely assumption." Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Allright… We have to take out the Angel's core to keep it's body from destroying the city, but to take out the core we have to take out it's body." Andrew shook his head.

"So we'll do both at the same time." Asuka snorted.

"Who says you decide what we do?" Andrew raised an eyebrow.

"Because I'm the one who was assigned as field commander for the pilots, that's why," the American stated flatly. Asuka glared at him.

"Why can't we just take and Eva to kill the Angel's core on the command deck?"

"Because the Angel's body would have flattened Tokyo-3 before we could get to the command deck," Andrew replied. "We'd have to smash through four walls to get to the core, which would take a bare minimum of thirty-seven seconds. Too long."

"So how do we take out the Angel's core without our Evas, sir?" Asuka sneered. Andrew looked thoughtful for a moment. Mana turned to Rei.

"… We know that the Angel's core is in NERV. Does the core know we know it's here?" Rei shook her head. Mana turned back to Andrew.

"Lieutenant, I've got an idea."

* * *

"Shinji."

The Third Child looked over at the First, as they crouched behind a storage container in the bay for Unit 01. Right now, a dozen guards stood watch over the purple behemoth, paying no mind to the far end of the cage.

"Ayanami?" Shinji asked. Rei looked down at the small machine gun she held in her hands. An MP7, Shinji believed Mana had called it. They were small weapons with minimal recoil, which would let them aim them very accurately. Shinji was glad-He didn't feel like killing anyone.

"I have tried to speak with you on many occasions about our relationship," the albino girl began. Shinji blinked at her in mild disbelief.

"You… You want to talk about it _now?"_ He whispered. Rei looked at him with a determined expression.

"This appears to be as good a time as any," Rei replied. Shinji gritted his teeth. He'd wanted to avoid this conversation, had been avoiding it for almost three months now.

_Musn't run away… Musn't run away…_ He took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Allright then…" Rei looked him in the eyes.

"Do you hate me, Shinji?"

The Third Child almost yelped "WHAT!" in disbelief, but managed to contain it to a hiss. Rei kept her eyes on him.

"Do you hate me? I believe it is a valid question." Shinji shook his head rapidly.

"No! No, of course not!" Rei looked a bit incredulous.

"Then why have you avoided me? Talked to me on some occasions, but ignored me on others? Why do you refuse to address the issue between us?" Shinji gritted his teeth.

"I… I…" Shinji shut his eyes tightly. Hell, he was probably going to die anyway, so why not get it out right now? Not like he would be able to do anything about his feelings later.

"… Rei, I think that I love you." There. He said it. Shinji opened his eyes and looked straight into Rei's.

"I love you. I love the way your head tilts just so when you're trying to figure out a problem. I love being able to know when you're upset, or happy, or anything when nobody else is. I love sleeping next to you, even though I freak out about it. In fact, I freak out about it _because_ I love it. I'm scared to love you, okay? That's why I've been acting this way!"

"… Why?" Rei asked. Shinji shook his head.

"I… I… I'm not supposed to love you! One, I'm worthless! I don't deserve love! I'm a murderer, Rei! You deserve someone better, anyone but a monster like me!" Shinji sucked in a deep breath, willing himself forward.

"Secondly… Secondly, you're a clone of my mother! If we… Did anything… It would be incest! Incest is wrong! I just can't…" Shinji looked down at the deck, breathing like he'd run a marathon. The gentle touch of Rei's hand on his cheek made him look up. His eyes widened, at the broad smile adorning her face. A smile that made his heart stop.

"Shinji… You are not a murderer. You fight and defeat Angels, Angels who have used your emotions against you. You have saved myself, Asuka, Andrew, Touji-The entire world several times over, and have taken nothing in return. You are a hero, Shinji… But I do not love you for that." Shinji gawked as Rei continued.

"I love you because you treated me as a person, instead of a tool. Because you reached out to me when no one else would. Because you have given me hope, and purpose." Rei shook her head, still smiling. "It is I who am not worthy of your love, despite earning it."

Shinji worked his jaw slightly. "But… What about-?"

"Shinji… My DNA was based upon your mother's, true, but I am not her." Rei shook her head. "I am me. I am not her. And… My Angel half has rendered me, for all intents and purposes, a sub-species of human. Biologically, we are no more related than I am to Major Katsuragi." Shinji blinked once more, and swallowed slightly.

"If… If we survive this," Rei began, a mild blush appearing on her cheeks. "I would like to pursue a relationship with you. If you wish it…"

"Ayanami… Rei… Do you really want a relationship?" Shinji asked quietly. Rei nodded.

"I would not have said otherwise," Rei told him honestly. Shinji nodded and smiled.

"… I do too." Rei looked away slightly, blushing at Shinji's bright smile, before she saw Unit One and their mission reasserted itself.

"… We must perform the mission, to pursue a relationship," Rei stated simply. Shinji chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, we do, don't we." Shinji peeked over the storage box and took aim through the sight of the sub-machine gun. He tapped the earpiece radio they'd all been given.

"Andrew, we're ready."

"_We're ready on our end. Execute," _Andrew ordered. Rei and Shinji shared one last look, before they opened fire as one. The Section 2 agents scattered, the Pilots keeping them moving about and shouting to find cover as the bullets rained around them.

* * *

Asuka held her P90 submachine gun tightly against her breast, keeping her breathing quiet and measured. Faintly, the sound of gunfire could be heard down the corridor. Asuka pressed herself harder against the armored wall, minimizing her sihoulette as much as possible.

"We've got a breach! Go go go!" A flurry of Section Two agents rushed out of the Eva hanger bay doors and down the corridor, completely ignoring Asuka in the shadows. The red head smirked, and fell to one knee, aiming her P90 at the legs of the retreating agents.

_RATATATATATATATA!_

"AUGH!"

"AAGH! DAMNIT!"

"MEDIC!" The entire group had fallen, their legs injured. Asuka didn't wait for them to try and move around or return fire, running into the hanger bay and closing the door behind her. A burst of fire to the door control panel, and the bay was sealed.

"Allright Mama, time to save the world again," Asuka murmured, as she sprinted to the entry plug for Unit 02. She pulled a few crates over on a catwalk facing the bay doors, before carefully mounting her P90 to a special tripod she'd brought along. She turned it on, and nodded to herself as a red LED light signaled the tripod's activation.

"Okay… Human infrared and motion detection fire mode," Asuka ordered the tripod. The Led light turned green and a small motor whirred in response, placing a robotic manipulator against the gun's trigger. Asuka grinned and went to the entry plug, plopping in her seat and checked her neural connectors as she began the manual start-up sequence.

"LT, I'm ready to go. Hope you're ready to cover me," Asuka spoke into her earpiece, as the entry plug slipped into place within the red Eva and linked into the mighty biomech.

"_That's confirmed, Pilot. Good luck,"_ Andrew responded. The bay doors began to be forced open from the outside, so Asuka pulled herself free from the restraints and leapt up to the top of the bay, swinging herself through one of the large Eva cage doors above the main bay. The door to Unit Two's bay burst open, and the Section 2 agents began pouring in.

_RATATATATA! RATATATATATA!_ They fell for cover as the P90 began firing. The lead agent of the team slipped on his IR goggles and grimaced.

"Commander, we've got at least one more pilot in this bay! They've got us cut off!" The heat signature coming from behind the crates was a dead-ringer for a teenager. "Looks like one of the female pilots!"

"_Understood. Subdue her immediately, but I want her alive," _the commander ordered. The head agent nodded.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Victoria pouted cutely as a live camera feed showed Unit Two punching through a city street high above. The red Evangelion leapt to the top of a skyscraper, before leaping to the roof of another. It leveled it's long javelin at her Angel and roared, before charging.

"Victoria, Unit Two is-"

"Yes, I see it," Victoria sighed. Hyugga's face adopted a kicked puppy look. The platinum-blonde girl was upset! And it was his fault! How could he live with himself!

"What of the other pilots?" Victoria asked. Hyugga immediately brightened. He could prove himself to her!

"The First and Third Child are getting into Units One and Zero, but I have flooded the areas around the bays with bakelite. It should slow them down." Victoria nodded.

"Excellent. What about the Sixth and Seventh?" Maya beamed happily.

"We have them contained in Unit Two's and Unit Four's bays, respectively," she reported. "Section Two should have them in custody soon."

"Excellent." Victoria pursed her lips. "Now then… Touji-chan?"

"_Yes, Victoria my love?"_ Touji immediately answered, smiling brightly in the plug of Unit Three. His left eye twitched slightly. Victoria immediately applied more mental pressure to his Eva, keeping it's will subdued. It was not an easy task, but ultimately the soul's struggling proved futile.

"Dear, I need you to go and stop Asuka-chan from destroying the Angel. It's a good Angel! She's here to help us. But Asuka has turned evil. You must stop her!" Touji nodded dumbly.

"_Right away, Victoria dear!"_

"And Touji? Feel free to kill her. Poor dear is in so much pain," Victoria added. Touji nodded eagerly.

"_Yes my peach!" _Victoria grimaced.

"Touji, only I may use pet names." Touji looked horrified.

_"Oh no! I'm so sorry, precious! Oops! I mean, Victoria-sama!"_ The Angel smiled.

"It's perfectly fine, dear. You can make it up to me by going out there and winning!" With that, she shut off the holo window and sighed.

"They'd better not kill Shinji. I couldn't bare to be stuck with that guy..."

_

* * *

_

_Dun dun, dun dun da dunnnn!_

_The next chapter will not take as long to write. Presuming anyone wants to read it._


	14. Chapter 14

_Sheesh, anyone still reading this? You guys are brave. Guess I was lying about taking less time to post this chapter up, huh? Oh well.

* * *

_

Victoria shook her head, irritation showing in her ever-color shifting eyes.

"They set up robotic firing systems?" Maya nodded meekly.

"Yes Victoria-sama. The troops didn't even find out until they tried flanking them." Victoria blew out a breath of frustration. Maya immediately felt terrible.

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Victoria-sama! Please, forgive me!" Maya got out of her seat and prostrated herself on the floor. Ritsuko followed suit.

"Please, forgive Maya-chan! She didn't mean to!" Victoria sniffed, and looked away haughtily.

"Well, I forgive you… _This time,_ Maya-chan. You can redeem yourself by finding the two other pilots. In the meantime, alert the JSSDF. Inform them that the Evas have gone rogue, and we require immediate assistance." Maya got to her knees and looked up, tears of joy pouring from her eyes. Ritsuko hugged her, and bowed down once more to Victoria.

"Thank you, than you Victoria-sama! We will not disappoint you again!" Victoria nodded.

"Hyugga, have Section 2 and 4 begin searching the base for the Sixth and Seventh Children. They are obviously after something, why else would they not join the other Evas?" Hyugga nodded with a bright smile.

"Right away, Victoria-sama!" The blonde turned to Gendo, and smiled shyly at the now-slightly drooling commander.

"Uncle Gendo… Can you have the anti-Eva weapons activate on the surface?" Gendo nodded happily.

"Certainly, Victoria-chan! Anything you want!" Victoria smirked.

"Good… Very good… Oh! And can you have some ice cream and cake sent up? I'm so hungry…"

* * *

Utility access corridor 324B was probably one of the least-used hallways in NERV. It led to the sewage plant, which was nearly completely automated like most other things in Tokyo-3. It wasn't that 324B smelled of sewage, on the contrary. It was simply only used when there was a problem with the sewage plant itself. 

"Okay… we should come up on a junction… Right about here," Mana murmured, holding a flashlight to the printed layout of the NERV maintenance network. Andew looked forward, the light on his F P90 illuminating a wall. He moved the light to his left and right, nodding as he spotted the openings to hallways.

"Roger that." Mana nodded.

"Okay, we need to take a left." Andrew quickly checked around the corner, sweeping the empty, dark hallway with his gunlight, before waving Mana forward. He led, his rifle held along his nose as he scanned the area carefully.

"Explain to me again, Mana… How is accessing Dr. Akagi's lab going to help us?" Andrew asked. Mana looked up from the map and smiled wryly.

"You've forgotten already?"

"Of course not. I just like having periodic updates on the plan," Andrew replied, never taking his eyes off the darkness ahead. Mana shook her head.

"Well, it's relatively simple. Dr. Akagi's lab has a direct access terminal to the MAGI. Figuring out her authorization code shouldn't be too difficult. Once we're in, we can contact the JSSDF."

"Alert them of a foothold situation, correct?" Andrew asked. Mana nodded.

"Yes."

"Can we bring the city defenses online?"

"I'm not sure… I don't think the doctor has that much clearance." Mana sighed. "Best I can do is engage a Code 3F lockdown."

"NBC attack?" Andrew asked skeptically. "Doesn't that require direct exposure of the NBC sensors to something to trigger that?"

"Well, fortunately for us, there are some biological agents in Dr. Akagi's lab that we can expose to the sensors," Mana replied. "It will engage the air-tight blast doors to isolate several zones of the base, and switch them over to independent life support systems."

"How do we get to the command deck then?" Andrew asked. Mana smiled.

"Well, the maintenance keycard I brought, along with the gas masks and boots, will let us get through the locks." Andrew nodded.

"… That's a brilliant plan, Mana. Remind me to recommend you for the Rising Sun when it works." Mana raised an eyebrow.

"Confident we'll succeed?" Andrew shrugged.

"In my experience, it helps to have a goal to work for, no matter how dire the situation. Hope for the best, prepare for the worse, that sort of thing." Andrew looked through his thermal sight. Seeing nothing, he continued speaking.

"Shinji, Rei, Asuka, and Touji have all qualified for Orders of the Rising Sun. In the US military, they'd each have at least one Congressional Medal of Honor, not to mention about a dozen other awards and ribbons." Andrew shook his head.

"Why does the commander persist in not recognizing the efforts of the pilots?" Mana snorted.

"He regards us as tools, not as people. He thinks that just because the Evas are so powerful, anyone could pilot them and succeed in his plans." Andrew narrowed his eyes, checking his IR scope again.

"We nearly there?"

"Just one more turn, and we'll be at an air duct entrance. We can follow that to the lab, sir." Andrew nodded.

"Allright then… Shinji, this is Andrew. Shinji, do you copy?" There was only static. Andrew frowned, and turned to Mana. She touched her own earpiece to activate it.

"Mana to Asuka? Mana to Rei? Asuka, Rei? Do you read? Over?" She shook her head.

"Nothing. Can't be the complex, these things can communicate through lead." Andrew's frown deepened.

"Double time," he ordered, and the two pilots set off at a jog. "Forget the JSSDF-If the Angel's taken the Evas down, they can't help us."

"What happened to positive thinking?" Mana asked. Andrew rolled his eyes.

"Mission, soldier. Sarcasm later."

* * *

"AAAUUUUGHHHH!" Asuka screamed, the blast from a positron-cannon turret grazing her shoulder. "_SCHEIST!"_

"_Asuka! Asuka! You okay?"_ Shinji shouted over the radio. Asuka picked up a schoolbus (making sure it was empty), before hurling it as hard as she could at the positron cannon mounted on the top of a mountain framing the Tokyo-3 valley. A dull boom sounded throughout the valley as the force of the Eva's throw accelerated the school bus past the sound barrier. Asuka smirked at the orange burst of fire that issued from the turret, and her cameras revealed she'd scored a direct hit, destroying the weapon.

"I am now. When were they going to tell us that they installed positron cannons around the city?" A mile away, Asuka could see Rei climbing a skyscraper, attempting to get in prog-knife range of the huge Angel.

"_They were intended to also be anti-Evangelion weapons, in case a unit went berserk. Such as Unit One,"_ Rei answered dispassionately. Asuka snorted.

"Figures they'd never trust us… Shinji-no-baka, look out!" Unit One turned around to face Unit Two, but it was too late. The heat signatures Asuka had detected around Shinji revealed themselves to be Evangelion "lasso" launchers, firing hundreds of long cables around the unit like a net.

"_Hey! God damnit, get off of me!" _Unit One roared and struggled against its bindings. Asuka growled under her breath.

"Hang on, Shinji! I'm coming! I'm-_Schiest!"_ Asuka barely dodged another positron blast, ducking to avoid the energy stream. A part of her brain registered that the blast had hit the same mountain where another position cannon had been. The rest of her mind was dealing with the image of Unit Three, holding a positron rifle at her.

"_I really don't want to do this, Asuka,"_ Touji informed her, and Asuka was surprised to find that she believed him. "_But Victoria-chan needs me to kill you."_

"Victoria-chan…? Wait a… VICTORIA-CHAN!" Asuka seethed. Of course that girl was the Angel! No girl could be that perfect, that beautiful, and have everyone falling over themselves trying to help her! She'd shown up four weeks ago in class! How could she have missed it?

"Touji, she's an Angel! She's taken control of your mind! You've got to fight her!" Asuka shouted. "Use some your brain for once!"

"_Victoria has opened my eyes, Asuka. She's given me everything I could ever want. I'm… I'm at peace. I'm not afraid to say what I really feel anymore."_ Asuka felt like gagging.

"God, she's turned you into a pansy!" A holowindow appeared, and a serene, slightly-smiling Touji was suddenly in her entry plug.

"_No… She's just helped me find peace. She can help you too, Asuka. She's not angry. She just wants to help you."_

"That's a laugh! If she's trying to _help_ me, then why is having _you_ take me out?" Asuka sneered. Touji shook his head.

"_It's the only way. You can't get better, Asuka. I don't want you to suffer anymore."_ Asuka swallowed hard, and looked around. Rei was closing in on Shinji, maintaining radio silence. The Third was also MRS. They were keeping Touji's attention on her…

Asuka nodded, and cleared her throat. She adopted a wounded expression.

"Touji, please! I know… I know that I've made things hard for you, but this isn't the answer!" Touji shook his head.

"_No Asuka, you don't understand. I'm doing this because I love you, not because I hate you. I want to save your soul. But as long as you live, your soul suffers."_

"And making me dead will help me?" Asuka asked, in utter disbelief. "How the hell does that work? Touji, the only way to help me is… Is to help me by, uh… By being close to me! Being my strength!" Asuka felt like barfing, but pressed on. "I need you, to help me… Help you, help me!"

"_I want to, Asuka. That's why I have to kill you."_

"No you don't! You just, er… You just have to push past my insecurities! I mean, you know that I don't really hate you, I er… I love you too! I'm just too scared and proud to admit it! See? There! You've already helped me without killing me!" Unit Three's grip on the positron rifle loosened just a little bit, as Touji looked thoughtful.

"… _I have, haven't I? … AUGHH! Aw, GOD! NOOOOOO!"_ Touji clutched at his head, his Eva copying his movements exactly.

"_No… I can't… I can't do it! No! I won't! I-ACK!"_ Asuka rushed Unit Three, tackling the black Eva into an office building. She wondered when the city had evacuated, but only for a moment. She stood up and rushed over to the positron rifle, carefully stepping over the huge power cable before reaching down to pick it up.

"Allright, bitch, time to die!" Asuka snarled, bringing the weapon to bear on the Angel. She pulled the trigger… Waited…

"Huh?" She pulled the trigger again. A red-tinged holowindow appeared, alerting her to the fact that the NERV complex was now in lock-down mode, and all external power sources had been deactivated.

"GOD DAMNIT, ANDREW AND MANA! YOU FUCKING BAKAS!"

* * *

Andrew winced, and double-checked his armor. He was definitely more comfortable in BDUs than the plugsuit, but it didn't make what he had to do any easier. Shaking his head, he held the P90's thermal sight to his eye. 

The bridge area was cavernous. The various walkways and ladders lining the interior definitely made finding a shooting spot easier. He was concealed in the shadows cast by the huge holographic displays hovering above. He zoomed in, picking out the Angel's blonde head easily among the other figures on the main command deck. He made sure the P90 was set to semi-auto mode.

_Mana... If I fail..._ She knew what to do. She was also hidden, ready to strike. Insurance.

He adjusted the sight once more. The blonde Angel's head dominated the image. A single red cross floated over her forehead.

Then she snapped her fingers... And Andrew felt his feet abruptly leave the ground. As though a huge, invisible hand had grabbed him, he was flung towards the command deck. He bit his lip.

_This will hurt..._ He decided, cursing aloud before he hit the deck.

* * *

Victoria spooned more ice cream into her mouth, and "mm'd" appreciatively. She looked over at the three bridge bunnies, furiously working at their stations. 

"Any luck with the agent?" She asked, noting that the red emergency lights overhead made the whole command room look eerie. Ritsuko, a laptop in hand, shook her head.

"Sorry Victoria-sama. No luck." Victoria nodded.

"Well, it doesn't matter. It's just an attempt by the Sixth and Seventh to disrupt our operations. It won't work for long." With a tired sigh, she snapped her fingers.

"DAMNIT!" _Thud!_ Victoria shook her head pityingly at the crumpled form of Andrew Stewart, lying on the deck in green BDUs and black bullet-proof utility vest.

"Playing Stargate: SG-1?" The blonde Angel asked condescendingly. Andrew blinked, trying to grab his gun. Victoria waved her hand, and the pilot was floating in midair, gasping and trying not to scream at the pain of being moved so quickly.

"Ouch… Those busted ribs and dislocated shoulder look bad." Victoria stood up and leisurely walked up to Andrew, smiling darkly at him.

"Why do you persist? You've lost. I'm the one with the power here, not you. This isn't your story, it's mine." Andrew's blank look made Victoria shake her head.

"Aren't you going to say anything? You're playing hero, you should at least have a witty remark." Andrew whimpered, and Victoria felt warm breath caressing her ear.

"He's not a hero… He's a distraction." _Bang!_

Mana made a face at the blood covering her gun and forearm, as Victoria collapsed to the floor, half her skull blown apart. She immediately moved to catch Andrew as he fell, and winced when he cried out in pain.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Mana shook her head and gently lowered the Sixth Child to the deck. She looked around, and noted with relief that the bridge crew were looking around, confused.

"What… What happened?" Ritsuko asked, rubbing her head. Gendo gave Mana a stern look.

"Pilot Kirishima, report." Mana opened her mouth.

"Commander! There's an Angel above the city!" Shigeru announced, and the Angel alarms immediately began going off. Ritsuko got to Andrew's side and began checking his ribs.

"What the-? Did you fall off a building, Andrew-kun?" He shook his head, sucking in a painful breath before gasping:

"Shinji… Asuka… Rei… Are fighting the Angel." Mana turned to Maya.

"Maya, shut off the lockdown! Fast! Now!" Confused, the tech complied.

"Pilot Stewart, what's going on?" Gendo demanded. The lights came back on, and Asuka's angry ranting filled the air.

"-_ING INCOMPETENT IDIOTS! AREN'T YOU GETTING THIS!" _The main screen showed an image of Unit Two facing down the approaching Angel, resembling a red shrimp about to be crushed by a monstrous white jellyfish.

"Asuka? What's going on? Why don't you fire?" Mana shouted.

"_Because I don't have any power! Hello!"_ Mana looked at Maya.

"There's a circuit loose! Level nineteen!" Mana bolted for the elevator, as Andrew got up and struggled to follow.

"Wha? Where are you going?" Shouted Gendo. Mana didn't answer, and neither did Andrew, the Sixth child stumbling into the elevator just as the doors closed. Ritsuko gawked.

"That circuit's at least five hundred kilograms in weight! What the hell are they thinking!"

"_Hello, the Angel's trying to crush me!"_ Asuka shrieked.

"Who is that corpse?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE, AND WHY IS MY OFFICE PAINTED PINK?"

* * *

Andrew wheezed with every step, his face turning green as though he might throw up. 

"Lieutenant?" Mana asked, as they rushed for the circuit through the confusing maze of large, dark pipes on level nineteen.

"No… I'm fine…" Andrew gasped. Mana shook her head.

"With broken ribs?"

"That's not important right now!" Andrew wheezed out angrily. "I can't get it fixed if we're all dead anyway, so go!" Mana gritted her teeth.

_Stupid, stubborn son of a…_ "Fine!" Mana spotted a line of dull gray, jagged machines. She raced for them, Andrew lagging further behind her with every second. The Seventh child looked frantically, and saw the damaged circuit. She shook her head.

"You've got to be kidding me," she groaned. Andrew caught up, his face bright red.

"What…?"

"The circuit… It's… Well look!" Andrew indeed looked. The circuit, about the size of an old Volkswagon Beetle, had shifted in it's floor-plug by about two inches. Andrew doubled over.

"Jesus Christ…" Mana shook her head.

"Well, nothing left to do but…" She climbed up onto the circuit, and began jumping up and down on it. It didn't budge.

"Damnit, _c'mon!"_ Mana shouted. Andrew leaned against another circuit, looking around as he struggled to stay conscious. His eyes wandered to a yellow forklift, and he wheezed as loudly as he could.

"What is it, Andrew?" Mana asked, pausing in her jumping and cursing. She followed his gaze. She grinned.

"I've got it…" Mana rushed to the forklift… And stared in bewilderment at the complex, poorly labeled controls. She spotted the key and turned it, before pulling a lever at random.

"GAH!" It drove backwards, before Mana shoved the lever back forward. The forklift zoomed for the circuit, at what seemed like an unsafe speed…

_Screw it!_ Mana thought, as the forklift rammed up against the circuit. Mana was thrown over the control panel, and onto the circuit proper. Despite the pain now burning in the back of her head, she smiled as she heard the circuit snap into place and begin to hum.

"Mission accomplished!" Andrew, lying on the floor, huffed out something that sounded like praise. Mana got off the circuit, sighed, and began pulling the Sixth Child back towards the elevator.

"I had better be getting paid for this…"

* * *

Two miles overhead, the Angel was raising one of it's tendrils and preparing to smite Asuka like a bug. 

"DAMNIT YOU IDIOTS!" Asuka shrieked over the radio. She shut her eyes, not wanting to see the tentacle as it crashed down on her. She couldn't move in time, she was nearly out of power…

"_YAAAAAHHHH!"_ Asuka opened her eyes at the loud yell over the radio. The tentacle was moving away… Pulled by a long, black cord wrapped around it. She followed it back, and gaped.

"_SHINJI!"_ The face of the Third Child appeared, as did the face of the First. Shinji nodded as best he could, while his Unit and Rei's pulled on the black cable from the Eva net, the Angel pulling back to try and escape it's wranglers. Rei's expression was... Well, Rei.

"How the hell did you-?"

"_I, uh… I saw it in a movie once,"_ Shinji confessed. "_I mean, it's like Andrew told us-Use what you can, right?"_

"_Do not worry, Asuka. We have the Angel. All you need to do is fire,"_ Rei told her. Asuka shook her head.

"I can't! I don't have the-" The red holowindow that had given Asuka the report of the positron rifle's blight turned bright green. She could feel and hear the hum of the weapon as it powered up. The Second Child grinned.

"Nevermind… Alpha Mike Foxtrot!" She pulled the trigger, the positron rifle firing a brilliant blast of energy right into the center of the Angel. Like a piece of paper exposed to flame, the Angel's body began to blacken and fall apart as it absorbed the energy of the shot, and combusted. An unearthly scream followed as the entire monster burst apart, raining down on the city like a snowstorm of ash. Asuka shook her head.

"… Only in Japan," she sighed.

"_Ugh… What happened?"_ Touji groaned over the radio. Asuka grinned evilly.

_This is gonna be good…_

Well Touji, it started with you saying something. Something _very _interesting..."

* * *

"The answer is still no." 

Andrew felt the sudden urge to punch the commander in his smirking mouth. His bandaged ribs and arm ached, even after their setting and treatment five hours ago, which ground on his self control. A violent impulse welled up inside him, but, due to his training, he expressed it verbally rather than physically.

"Excuse me, sir! Mana Kirishima planned the operation. She got the circuit back in place. Hell, she even dragged me to the infirmary all by herself for treatment! She is officially listed in the JSSDF as a member of the military! It is the least that can be done for her!"

"You acted without prior authorization, took weapons and armor not covered by your qualifications," Gendo began. Andrew slammed his good hand down on the commander's desk, the American noting in satisfaction that Fuyutsuki jumped.

"She saved this city, and the entire world. All of our lives, while _you_ were under the influence of the Angel's mind control powers! She has the potential to be a tremendous asset to us as both a pilot and an officer." Fuyutsuki cleared his throat.

"Perhaps, Commander, there is an exception to every rule?" Gendo's glasses reflected more light than usual, indicating his irritation. Andrew didn't know this, so he continued on.

"_Every_ pilot deserves to be commended for their actions! Recognized! It will give them a sense of pride and appreciation, all of which they richly deserve! You withholding such honors and recognition seems fitting, since _you_ have done nothing to earn the titles and honors you already have!" Gendo glared openly at the lieutenant. Andrew glared right back.

"… The matter will be decided in time. Dismissed, _Lieutenant."_ Andrew gave a curt salute, before turning around and storming out of the office. As the door closed, Gendo sighed and rubbed his cheeks.

"They are getting out of control."

"They saved us all," Fuyutsuki reminded him. "From ourselves, as a matter of fact. Just because your pride was wounded is no reason to punish them." Gendo felt like growling at the sheer impudence of his second-in-command's statement.

"Such trappings serve no purpose!" Gendo countered. Fuyutsuki shook his head.

"We have no idea how long this war will last, Ikari. They are not tools, nor are they machines. They are soldiers, fighting on the frontlines. They need something more to keep them going." Gendo growled under his breath.

"… Make the arrangements you deem necessary." Gendo stood and grimaced at his all-pink office. "I will be getting the maintenance teams to… Fix this." Fuyutsuki chuckled.

"You seemed delighted with the alterations, as I recall," the older man commented as he exited the office. The sound of a phone crashing against the closed door only made Fuyutsuki's smile wider.

* * *

Later that evening, at the Zoo, the pilots had gathered in the living room. Around them lay several opened envelopes, as each Eva pilot went through their postage. 

"_Captain!_ Why the hell did they make _you _a captain?" Asuka demanded. She held up her own envelope from NERV, containing a silver bar with a chevron and three stripes underneath a small star-Marking her rank as a chief master sergeant. Andrew shrugged.

"I finished officer training school. And I already held a commissioned officer's rank." Mana smirked slightly, looking over her first lieutenant star and bar.

"It's nothing personal, Soryu. Just signifies what you do in the unit." Asuka huffed.

"I've lead the pilots before!" The redhead sniffed. Andrew nodded.

"Yes, which is why you're a sergeant. Your tasks are to help Mana and myself manage the unit." Shinji and Rei looked over their private first class insignias and ribbons with interest on the love seat, while Touji looked over his private second class patch impassively. Andrew looked over at Touji and shook his head.

"That doesn't have any bearing on your actions today, Touji," Andrew said firmly. Touji looked up at him, blinking, as Andrew elaborated.

"It wasn't your fault." Touji looked down at the floor thoughtfully.

"You just got that rank because you're a junior pilot, basically. That's all. And besides," Mana grinned, holding up a medal. "You got the Order of the Rising Sun, Second class!"

"I…" Touji shook his head. "I'm sorr-"

"You don't have anything to be sorry about," Shinji spoke firmly, every set of eyes now on him. He coughed, before pressing on:

"You forgave me for… For the Thirteenth incident. And I… I managed to forgive myself." Shinji looked Touji right in the eyes. "Now, it's time for you to do the same."

Touji gaped at Shinji… Before a grin came over his face.

"Damn! Can I have Rei for my girlfriend? I mean, if she made _you _grow a backbone…" Touji laughed as he was bombarded by rolled-up envelopes.

"So, where do we go from here, Captain?" Mana asked, smiling at Andrew. The Sixth Child smiled back.

"Well Lieutenant, we need to talk with Colonel Katsuragi about training schedules… And the award ceremonies for all these decorations." Andrew shook his head. "The Silver Star award is going to take the longest, I just know it is."

"Hey! You deserve it. Don't they just give that award to stupidly brave officers?" Asuka smirked. Andrew shrugged as Mana giggled.

"Probably… But… Definitely couldn't have gotten it without you guys."

"That's a compliment, right?" Touji asked with a grin. Andrew shrugged.

"Could it be anything else?" He asked frankly, inwardly feeling what he knew had to be pride, as enthusiastic, trusting nods surrounded him. Andrew smiled, and for the first time since he came to Japan, laughed. A true, honest laugh, for the wonderful people he commanded.

And in the kitchen, Pen Pen smiled as he once again defeated Misato in a drinking contest, the purple-haired woman clutching tightly in one hand the photo taken of the pilot's beach trip, showing them all grouped together and smiling… And her colonel's stars and bars in the other.

* * *

_Well, next time is going to be a bit different… And it may involve lasers. Guess you'll have to wait and see. Ciao!_

Notes:

-In many fanfictions, Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Touji all receive commissions as officers. However, an officer requires leadership and command experience. Rei and Shinji are the best fighters, and have the most medals, but have no experience in running operations or ordering people. Therefore, they are at the highest rank for enlisted, frontline soldiers in the Japanese Self Defense Force: Privates First Class (PFC). Or, in pay rate terms, E-3. Touji is Private Second Class (Pay rate E-2) simply because he has less combat experience than the others, and also has no command experience or training to be an officer.

- Asuka has been training to be an Eva pilot for most of her life. She also seems to have a good tactical mind and decent leadership abilities. However, she also hasn't been to an officer training academy, so she has been made a Non-commissioned officer, or NCO. NCOs are chosen for their knowledge and experience in the technical aspects of a unit's mission. Asuka here has more experience synching with and piloting an Eva than anyone else, so she advises and instructs all of the other pilots in those aspects. If an Eva can't do something Mana or Andrew ask it to do, Asuka's going to tell them it can't be done, and they must listen to her. Asuka is also the chosen heavy weapons handler, also because of her experience, at the rank of chief master sergeant (CMS, or pay rate level E-7).

_-_Andrew has gone through officer training school in the United States. His promotion to captain (bypassing second lieutenant) may seem odd, but it's the rank nessecary for an officer to command a tactically significant unit, such as an aircraft squadron or infantry company. The sheer importance of the Evas has forced this rank skip, equivalent to O-3 pay rate. Mana's rank until this moment had been undefined, so I had the Japanese government give her a commission of second lieutenant, the lowest rank she can have to be the Eva's executive officer. She works with Andrew to plan training and tactical missions, as well as working with Asuka to discipline and keep up the morale of the enlisted ranked pilots. How much fun is that going to be?


	15. Chapter 15

_Whew! I'm back! And despite the constant calls of the telemarketers as I write this, I have yet to succumb to the urge to track them down, kill them all, and stick their heads on pikes outside the telephone company._

_What can I say? I warned them._

_- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
_

The firing range was much like any other Mana Kirishima had trained at. The same holographic target boards, the same ear and eye protection equipment lining the walls.

Mana couldn't help but consider that, even with the experiences she'd had as an Eva pilot over the last few months, it was like she was right back where she started. Only now she was sighing in exasperation over a student, instead of being sighed over herself.

"No Shinji, look." Mana reached over and held the top of the FN P90, pushing it harder against the Third Child's shoulder. "You need to hold it firmly. Do you think that your shoulder holds onto your arm like that?"

Shinji shook his head, squinting slightly through the eyepiece. "No… But the last time I fired a rifle, the recoil made it feel like my collar bone was breaking."

"That's because you tried using an M-4 carbine," Mana shook her head with a sigh. "This is a P90. It's an entirely different weapon. For one, its blow-back operated, so the recoil is nearly zero."

"Then why didn't you start me off with that one?" Shinji asked, feeling a bit irritated. Mana smirked.

"Because, like all males, you went for the biggest gun first." Shinji sputtered.

"I-I what!"

"Relax, Shinji. I made the same mistake once." Both teenagers looked up from the firing range to see Andrew walking in, dressed in his plugsuit and a black jacket. Mana raised an eyebrow, discretely comparing her commanding officer's official-looking attire with the school uniforms she and Shinji wore.

_Hey, he doesn't fill that out half-bad… Then again, Shinji and Toji fill it out just fine,_ she thought cattily. "Something I can do for you, Captain?"

"Aren't you two supposed to be in school?" Stewart asked with raised brow. Mana smirked as Shinji looked rather guilty.

"Er… There was a… Um…" Mana's smirk grew.

"Kensuke was giving a presentation on his comparison between the Pre-Impact Gundam shows, and Post-Impact." Stewart frowned at Shinji's minute shudder.

"Exactly how is a presentation by Kensuke reason for skipping school?" Mana frowned, noting that Shinji was about to stutter out another explanation that the captain would doubtless fail to understand. Unlike Shinji, she knew the full extent of Stewart's memory erasure.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, why aren't you in school?" Stewart shrugged.

"I'm still on medical leave."

"You look fine to me," Mana said teasingly. Stewart sighed.

"Well, I'd rather spend my time catching up on paperwork than sitting in a hospital bed." He smiled. "Plus, it let me finally get the order through for these jackets." He stretched out an arm to show off the emblems on the sleeve.

"Let's see… The American flag on the right, the NERV emblem on the left, your captain's bars on your collar ears, a USAF emblem, and your own 'Stewart, A.' nametag. Yup, it makes you look like a total doofus." Stewart smirked.

"You're all getting them, so you might want to hold off on judging it so harshly," the captain returned. Mana shook her head, her smirk softening as Shinji coughed.

"Uh, Captain? Sir?"

"Andrew, Shinji. You're not officially on duty, remember? What is it?" Stewart asked. Shinji smiled in a self-deprecating way.

"Er, well, it's nice of you to get us those jackets, but uh… Do you mind me asking why?"

"It's simple. I don't fancy soaking my clothes in LCL everytime there's an emergency, but I certainly don't want to freeze in my plugsuit. Hence, from now on, when you're on duty here at NERV, you're in your plugsuit at all times." Shinji winced.

"Uh, Andrew, they are pretty, uh…"

"Flattering?" Mana asked with a grin, to which Shinji coughed. _Eh? He's not blushing?_ She thought.

"Well, um, yeah."

Andrew nodded to the Third Child.

"I know, Shinji, but the plugsuits pack on a lot of survival gear I'd prefer you guys have if you have to punch out. Plus, the new restraints aren't going to fasten correctly onto your school uniform." Shinji looked confused.

"New restraints…?"

"The decorations and commissions were just the start," Andrew explained, looking over the weapons on the gun table. "Thanks to Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, the colonel and I have been able to get in some mecha safety inspectors to overhaul the entry plugs. The new couches should displace up to 30 percent additional gee forces in combat, while also keeping you in control." He turned back, his face slightly more serious.

"Misato's also gotten Ritsuko to implement a neural interface buffer into the Evas. They had it on the shelves, but for some reason the Commander didn't think it necessary to keep his pilots from experiencing blood-burning pain." Mana noticed Shinji's fist clench at the mention of his father. _Can't say I blame him…_

"Anyway, I was just here to drop off your claim forms for the new suits and jackets. The seminar on how to use them is also in here," he said, pulling out the paper packets from the inside of his jacket. Shinji and Mana took them, the Seventh Child immediately opening it up and leafing through the contents.

"Huh… Armor insertion panels, respiratory filtration inserts, parachute… GPS?" Mana frowned and looked back at the captain.

"I understand the MAGI datalink, but why GPS?"

"The MAGI, since they're based on organic technology, can be easily infiltrated and overridden by the Angels." Andrew shook his head. "I'd rather they not hack into our parachutes and let us fall from several hundred meters to our deaths."

"Is that why you've put in requests from the JSSDF for non-MAGI based systems to be installed into the Evas?" Mana asked, a small smirk on her lips. "Without the Commander's official approval?" Shinji gawked at Andrew, who shrugged.

"They were already in the system. I just… Tidied up the Commander's paperwork, that's all. Lieutenant Ibuki was more than happy to help." Stewart shrugged, before turning around.

"I'm due to brief the new security forces with Misato. Don't work too hard, both of you." With that, he was gone. Shinji shook his head in disbelief.

"Man… I just can't figure him out." Mana shrugged.

"If it helps, Shinji… Neither can I. Of course, it's not like I'm an expert on the male gender," Mana stated matter-of-factly, picking up a P90 of her own and sighting a target from her own booth. She pulled the trigger and emptied six rounds into the dead center of the bull's-eye on the head.

"Er, well… Actually Mana, I kind of wanted to talk to you about that," Shinji said hesitantly, lifting his own P90 and firing a single shot. It embedded itself a few centimeters to the right of the chest target. Mana frowned.

"I thought you were with Rei, Shinji. Don't tell me you're gay?" A wild burst of inaccurate fire peppered the target. Shinji turned his head and began to sputter, before noticing the teasing smile on her face.

"Relax, Shinji. Now, what can I do for you?" Shinji turned back to the target, nervously holding up his P90 again to try and hit the center target again.

"Well… Rei-chan is… Er… I mean… I just don't know what to do. Ever since we, um…"

"Confessed your undying love for eachother?" Mana quipped. Once again, Shinji's bull's-eye was covered in wild bullet holes.

"Could you not do that?" Shinji demanded, to which Mana smiled innocently.

"Look Shinji… Considering just how outgoing the two of you are, it's not surprising you're having trouble. It's natural, okay? The first few steps into a relationship are always difficult." Mana sighted along the top of the P90 and fired four more shots right into the bull's-eye on the target's chest.

"Therefore, I suggest a rather novel approach."

"What?" Shinji asked.

"Just talk to her. You're both probably nervous as hell about this entire thing. The two of you are smart enough to know what you want out of this relationship." Mana fired a few more perfectly aimed shots, which Shinji countered with his best-Getting a single round impacting the central dot on the chest bull's-eye of his own target.

"Yeah, but… What should we want? What should _I_ want?" Shinji asked. Mana rolled her eyes, effortlessly putting another burst of rounds into the bull's-eye of the chest target.

"Shinji, you can't plan it out like a military operation. A relationship is infinitely complex, just like combat. As a result, you need to take it one step at a time. In both your cases, you have no idea how to go about a relationship. It's simple truth." Mana finished up her clip, and put down the P90 to replace it.

"So, uh… What's the first step?" Mana winced.

_Oh boy…_

_- - - - - - - - - - - - -__  
_

"You want me to _what?"_ Asuka hissed, slamming the door of her locker shut with a harsh clank. Rei Ayanami stood before her, showing no reaction to the Second Child's outburst.

"I request your aid in my relationship with Shinji-kun," the First repeated. Asuka turned away, clenching her jaw and eyes tightly.

"And _why…_ Exactly… _Should_ I help _you_ with _that?"_ Asuka hissed. Rei frowned very slightly.

"Because I asked you to?" Asuka muttered a number of curses in German under her breath, which Rei allowed before continuing.

"I realize that this is difficult for you, Pilot Sorhyu-"

"The hell you do!" The redhead snarled, walking off. Rei kept up, her focus on Asuka's fury-twisted face.

"We have both suffered loss, Pilot Sorhyu. Yours is no different from mine."

"What would _you_ know about loss, Doll?" Asuka seethed. "And what makes you think I'm suffering from loss, huh? You using your Angel powers to read my mind?"

A firm hand clenched her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. Asuka turned her head slightly, catching a hint of fury in the albino's eyes. Her voice, however, was still level and calm.

"My origin does not matter to Shinji-kun. I do not care about your opinion as far as it relates to this subject, because it does not matter to him. Your opinion and expertise as it relates to my relationship with him, however, does." Rei released Asuka's shoulder, leaving the redhead to stand facing her of her own volition.

"… My opinion, is that you took from me when you began your relationship with Shinji," Asuka stated in barely-restrained rage. "That you took something that didn't belong to you."

"Ikari-kun did not belong to you. He does not belong to me. He chose to begin a relationship with me because he loves me-"

"_Don't you say that word!"_ Asuka nearly screamed, hurriedly looking around. Seeing that no one was around, she turned her gaze back to Rei's face.

"You don't _understand_ the concept, you _freak!"_ Asuka shivered noticeably. "You were _grown in a test tube!_ How can you _possibly_ understand love?" Asuka felt her head snap to the side from the numbing force of a slap. She turned back, holding her red cheek and gawking at the narrowed red eyes of the albino, just before the First turned away.

"… You are only partially correct," Rei spoke simply, in a soft, frustrated tone. "I know what I feel… But to express it? That, I do not know." Rei turned back to Asuka, meeting her eyes, her expression angrier and more vulnerable than she'd ever seen in the First Child before.

"I spoke to him. I told him the truth, because I did not know how else to express my feelings. Now that he knows of my feelings, and I of his… I do not know what the next step is." Rei shook her head.

"He cares for us both, Asuka. The feelings must be mutual, or else you would not be so angry. I do not need to use my Angel side to see this." Asuka ground her teeth before she answered in a heated whisper.

"So why ask me, huh? You of all people _must_ know that I wouldn't feel I owe you squat! So _why?"_ Rei blinked, thoughtful for only a moment.

"Because we both feel the same way for him. I could not ask Colonel Katsuragi. Despite her feelings for Shinji-kun, she is unable to act on them due to her position and own misgivings. I could not ask Class Representative Horaki; her feelings are still torn between Shinji-kun and Pilot Suzuhara." Rei nodded.

"You are the most logical choice. But, it appears you have made your decision." With that, the First turned and began walking away. Asuka bit her lip, making a face as though she were struggling to swallow a most foul substance. Finally, she exhaled, and caught up with Rei with some fast walking, still holding her cheek.

"Okay Wonderdoll… You want to have a relationship with Shinji? A real one, and not a lot of hand holding and sappy love poetry?" Rei nodded minutely. Asuka grinned ferally.

"Well then… You came to the right girl."

_- - - - - - - - - - - - -_

_Exactly what is our lovable Second Child up to? And just how far can Stewart push the Commander before he's pushed back? All this and more in the next chapter!_


	16. Chapter 16

_If I made this into an anime, I'd like the Goo Goo Dolls to do the closing or opening music. And the composer of the _Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex _soundtrack for the in-show music. Or the guy who does the Final Fantasy music. Any of that would work._

_And no, Andrew's not turning into a Mary Sue. Just trust me on this._

_- - - - - - - - _

Running was more than exercise to Toji.

Jogging through the streets of his home city, out into the countryside, over highways and trails, he felt he was chasing after something always just out of sight ahead. Toji wasn't one for philosophizing. To him, life was life, and a cigar was just a cigar. But in running, with every step he took, he couldn't help but imagine that something more glinted ahead, just over the horizon or the next hill.

Naturally, he didn't expect someone else to join his jogging quest. He always avoided other runners, preferring to keep this quest to himself. Toji, however, soon heard the tell-tale echo of another runner's footsteps, and turned his head slightly. He would have groaned if he wasn't keeping his breath for oxygen.

Asuka Langly Sorhyu, dressed in a black tank top and red jogging shorts, came up next to him, matching his pace. Her breathing was as shallow as his, her eyes only looking him once before focusing back forward. Toji wasn't keen on changing his pace just to avoid Sorhyu-He'd screw up his rhythm. So, he just kept up with her, the soles of their sneakers slapping the pavement in harmony. They continued in this way, until Toji's preferred break spot, the mountain road overlooking the valley Tokyo-3 made home.

He slowed his pace, carefully, until finally stopping, leaning over with his hands gripping his knees as he drew breath loudly. Toji rested for a few moments, noting that Sorhyu had done the same, leaning against the guardrail overlooking the city as she breathed heavily. Toji wandered over and joined her, leaning forward as well.

"… Come here often?" Toji joked quietly, still breathing heavily. Asuka snorted, panting a bit.

"The Geofront's closed off for repairs."

Toji nodded. He looked out over the city, whistling a bit. Asuka raised an eyebrow.

"Tradition," he explained, shaking his head with a lopsided grin. Asuka smirked and shook her head.

"Figures." She shook head, snorting again and looking out over the valley. Toji wasn't quite sure what was going on here, not prone to excessively deep thought. Still, he wasn't averse to looking over a sunrise-bathed Tokyo-3 with a pretty girl. Even if she was, well, _Asuka._

"… You heard about the new pilot, right?" Toji frowned at Asuka's sudden question.

"No, I didn't…. It's not Kensuke is it?" Asuka laughed bitterly.

"Oh, _if only…"_ Asuka shook her head, her long red tresses whipping out behind her.

"How come you know and I don't?"

"Because I outrank you, baka. I'm going to be responsible for training her in synching," Asuka stated flatly. Toji blinked, a terrible thought beginning to emerge in the back of his mind.

"… Her?" Asuka sighed.

"Hikari is going to be the new Ninth Child. A reserve pilot. Despite the fact that there are a hundred potential candidates back in the US who are all much better trained and prepared for that kind of duty." Asuka growled bitterly.

"The Bastard is going to ruin her life, just because you and Captain Blockhead seem to have a thing for her," the redhead went on angrily. Toji gaped at her in disbelief.

"You're joking. You've got to be shitting me. He couldn't... He would do that, wouldn't he?" Toji spat. Asuka nodded grimly.

"Of course he would… And it's your _fucking fault,_" she snarled. Toji gawked at her.

"Wh-WHAT? What the hell are you babbling about? That's the _last_ thing I want!"

"You told Captain Baka to stay away from Hikari, moron! Section 2 was all over that! The Bastard King _likes_ screwing around with our emotions because he gets off on it!" Asuka bit out. The glare she fixed on Toji was so intense he felt like turning away… But Toji squared his shoulders and glared right back.

"… Then we shouldn't let him, should we?" Toji suggested quietly. Asuka raised an eyebrow… Before sighing with a smirk on her face.

"And here I thought you didn't have anything in that thick, ugly head of yours," she stated. Toji rolled his eyes.

"Oh, like _you've _been a real help," Toji sneered. "You're helping Rei and Shinji get together! You're manipulating them just like him!" Asuka shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"The difference between me and the Bastard King, Stooge, is simple: I'm helping them to piss him off. He doesn't help anyone but himself." Asuka looked Toji over, her gaze serious and somber.

"That's the difference." Toji blinked, shaking his head slightly and looking back out over the city.

_Never a dull day in Tokyo-3… Especially if you're an Eva pilot…_

"So, you got a plan to back up your strut, Devil Girl?" Toji asked flippantly. Asuka smirked in a much nastier way than he'd ever seen her do so before.

"Is Misato a threat to pedestrians behind the wheel?"

"Uh… Yes?"

"That was a _rhetorical question,_ baka! Now here's what we do…"

_- - - - - - - - _

The candy shop was easily one of Mana's favorite places to shop, aside from the mall's various department stores. Something about the jars and shelves filled with various candies and sweets reminded her of a rainbow. The clouds painting the walls of the store made it all the more potent an illusion.

She looked over some chocolate-covered walnuts, before noticing a familiar blue mop of hair in another isle. She frowned.

"Ayanami-san?" The albino turned around, blinking her red eyes curiously. She then nodded politely to her.

"Lieutenant Kirishima," Rei replied. Mana laughed.

"Relax, Rei-I can call you Rei, right?" At the albino's nod, Mana's smile grew a bit.

"We're off duty, Rei-san. It's fine. So, what are you doing here?" Rei blushed ever so slightly.

"I… I was hoping to find something for Shinji-kun… But I am unsure of what to get." Mana nodded with a small smile. _So, she's making the first move huh?_

"Ah…" Mana finally noticed the large number of items in the albino's hands, as she stood on her tip-toes to look over the aisle completely.

"Chocolate-covered cherries… Pocky… Raisinets… Chocolate-covered locusts?" Mana asked in disbelief. Rei's blush grew a bit more.

"I… Do not know what to get him. I have not seen him eat candies before."

"So, why are you getting him candies anyway?"

"Pilot Sorhyu recommended that I try getting him candy and flowers as a way to start a date… The candy store was closest to my home, so I began here. She further recommended that I get a wide variety of products for Shinji and I to sample." Mana couldn't help but giggle a bit at that, before shaking her head and coming around the aisle to face the albino directly.

"Rei-san… I think you and I need to have a long talk… And I need to have one with Asuka as well…" Rei frowned thoughtfully.

"Pilot Sorhyu, it seems, did not give me accurate information."

"No, she did… She just didn't give it in the proper context," Mana explained with a smile. Rei sighed.

"The best deceptions are mostly truth." Mana raised an eyebrow.

"Where'd you learn that?" Rei smiled ever so slightly.

"The Commander…"

_- - - - - - - - _

"_Andrew, look out!" _

_The Sixth Child looked up as a black-robed figure with long, burning blonde hair launched himself at him. The man in the robe cackled._

"_PREPARE TO DIE, FOOL! KA… ME… HAAAAAUGHHH!"_

_The man was riddled with bullet holes before he could finish screaming his attack, and fell in a bloody heap before Andrew. He saw him shake his head pityingly, before rushing forward at impossible speeds through a dense forest-_

_SCRSH!_

_A young Asian man with tanned skin and black messy hair stared at him uncertainly, looking up from a notebook he was scribbling something down on._

"_You sure you're okay man? That last battle-"_

"_I'm okay," Andrew heard himself reply. He turned to look at a mirror, frowning at his prematurely gray hair. The reflection's lips continued to move, even though Andrew said nothing else._

"_It's just a scar… Just another scar," he heard himself say, only in a deeper and older-sounding voice than his own._

_SCRSH!_

"_Why do you bother?" Asked a tall, impossibly beautiful woman standing in the center of a town square. Dozens of men and women, armed with whatever they could find, stood around her, glaring death at him._

"_Why do you keep fighting? You will never win," the woman continued. Andrew shook his head and turned to the Asian man form before, standing at his side._

"_Ready Nate?"_

"_Always, Talon." Nate scribbled something hurriedly on his notebook… And the woman blinked at her changed form._

"_Wh-What! How?" She screeched in a high-pitched, annoying voice. She was shorter than before, her face pimply and unattractively thin, thick glasses balanced on her nose. She whimpered as the villagers turned on her, approaching angrily at being deceived. "No, please! Squall-chan! Seifer-chan! Don't-AIEEE!"_

_The girl was pulled out of the angry crowd by a giant fishing pole, and reeled in over to Nate and Andrew. Nate tossed her into a waiting craft of some sort, sighing heavily._

"_Think this is the right thing to do?"_

"_She's not as far gone as the rest," he heard Talon say again, backing into the ship as the villagers realized what had happened and were heading for them. "There's still hope."_

_SCRSH!_

"_Restoration… 20 percent…"_

And Andrew woke up, drenched in sweat, with a shaky, shuddering breath. He looked around his room, the afternoon sun shining through the windows. The room was dark aside from the little orange rectangle on the floor. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

_I take a nap for twenty minutes… And I've been asleep for three hours. _He didn't want to analyze the dreams he'd had-He'd been having them for a while now, and they seemed to have no real relevance. Aside from the number cited every time he woke up.

_What happens when I get to 100 percent?_ Stewart wondered. He shook his head in disbelief. _I can't believe I'm letting a stupid dream get to me…_

He noticed Penpen peering through the door, the bird warking very quietly. Andrew frowned a bit. The penguin's behavior was also bothering him. Especially how Penpen had handled the gun, and had seemed to know that he and Shinji needed to go fight the Angel.

Just how smart was this bird anyway…?

"Andrew-kun?" Shinji came to the door, and Penpen took his leave, waddling away as though nothing were amiss. Andrew cleared his throat and smiled at the Third Child.

"Hey Shinji-kun… Something up?"

"Er… It's dinnertime," Shinji said quietly. He frowned at Andrew's disheveled state.

"I just overslept in my nap, that's all," Andrew reported. He got up and smiled reassuringly at his roommate. "So, my turn to cook again, right?"

"Uh yeah, about that," Shinji coughed. "Can we… Have something _besides_ MREs?" Andrew frowned.

"What's wrong with them?"

"Well, uh, it'd be nice if we could have a change, that's all," Shinji suggested nervously. Andrew frowned.

"… I can call for takeout?" Shinji blinked at the American boy.

"… Don't you know how to cook?"

"… I can boil water, and follow instructions," Andrew replied simply. He frowned in confusion. "Isn't that cooking?" Shinji sweatdropped.

"Oh boy…"

_- - - - - - - - _

_What plans are Asuka and Toji plotting? Will Rei and Shinji get to the relationship part of their relationship? What's with Andrew's freaky dreams, and will he learn how to cook?_

_All this and more in the next terribly boring and confusing chapter of "Plugsuits!"_


	17. Chapter 17

_Fun, cheesy, and dramatic fight scenes up ahead for my loyal readers... All three of them. Aw well, thanks guys!  
_

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The pot had brown and green goo bubbling up out of it, a toxic smell choking the kitchen. Andrew and Shinji looked over the concoction, the American boy looking disgusted and depressed, and the Japanese boy about the same.

"Um… What were you trying to make?" Shinji asked, wrinkling his nose. Andrew held up the cookbook he'd been reading, resting it against his chest, covered in a black tactical utility vest. Shinji tugged at his plain orange apron slightly, as Andrew looked back and forth between the page on miso soup, and the thing in the pot on the range.

"… Reminds me of the bombing range near Fallon," the American noted. Shinji winced.

"Uh, heh… Um…"

"Don't worry Shinji," Andrew said with a smile. "I just have to practice more, that's all." Shinji nodded, smiling back as he took the pot of toxic soup to the sink and poured it out, gagging slightly at the wave of noxious steam that rose from the stainless steel receptacle.

"Well, at least it didn't eat through the metal," Shinji sighed. Like a certain colonel's cooking usually did. He smiled at Andrew, who was pulling out his cellphone. Shinji frowned as Andrew held it to his ear, nodded a few times, and hung up. He looked at Shinji apologetically.

"Sorry Shinji. Apparently the Colonel's got a mission for me."

Blue eyes widened. "For you?"

"For me and Asuka." The American shrugged. "The plane carrying the new pilot's Eva crashed near Okinawa. Asuka will be going down in the D-type equipment to recover it, and I'll be flying air cover." A frown came over the face of the Third Child.

"Shouldn't more than two Evas be sent? I mean… Not the first time an Angel's infiltrated with an Eva," the blue-eyed pilot asked. The captain nodded approvingly at the Third's foresight.

"True enough, Shinji. However, there are only two transport planes available." Andrew smiled encouragingly.

"Relax. We'll be fine. Besides… You'll be doing some qualifications testing with Rei in the new two-seater entry plug. I don't think you'll miss us too much," the American noted. Shinji gulped audibly.

"Something wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing Andrew-kun," Shinji assured him, his stomach filling with butterflies. The captain smiled, said goodbye, and left the kitchen, leaving Shinji to nervously fiddle with the pot. He took a deep breath, before puffing out his cheeks in disgust.

"Oh, _God…"_

A passing mailman could not help but gawk as a gunk-covered pot flew off the balcony of a high-rise apartment and crashed into a conveniently placed dumpster on the curb below.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A six hour flight later…

"God, this is _so_ undignified," Asuka Langley Sorhyu moaned, once again beholding her beloved Unit 02 in the bulky D-Type survival suit. The huge biomech was being loaded onto an aircraft carrier, docked at the Okinawa UN Naval Base. The redhead tugged on the new black jacket she wore over her blood-red plugsuit, shaking her head in a grimace.

Next to her, Andrew J. Stewart, clad in his mostly-white and black plugsuit and black jacket, crossed his arms over his chest and watched silently.

"Grr… I can't believe this… Why do _I_ have to go down in _that thing_ again?" Asuka whined. Andrew shrugged, his lips twitching _ever_ so slightly.

"You have the most experience in the suit. That's why, _sergeant,"_ the American explained patiently. Asuka rolled her eyes with a huff.

"So unfair… When are _our_ Evas going to get wings, _Captain?"_ Andrew gave her a deadly look, to which she responded with a sighed "_sir."_

"When you've passed flight training. Which, so far, you haven't," the Sixth pointed out flatly. Asuka rolled her eyes.

"I could fly your Eva with my eyes closed!"

"Unfortunately, until the… _Commander_ clears us for flight training, you're down to sims."

"So?"

"You can't qualify with just sims," Andrew replied, as the girl hissed something vulgar in her native tongue. Not being acquainted with German, Andrew let it slide.

"Whose stupid idea was that?"

"Every qualified pilot to have ever lived's stupid idea," the American answered, fighting the urge to smirk. Mana had become fond of needling the Second Child, and Andrew had fallen to the habit as well. It gave him a perverse sort of enjoyment that countered his exasperation with the redhead's frequent rants and breaches in protocol.

Asuka in turned rolled her eyes and started walking for the docks. Andrew followed, letting himself smirk ever-so-slightly.

"I saw that, Sixth!"

"That's Captain Sixth to you."

The smirk became a full-blown smile. Asuka just cursed again under her breath.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The aircraft carrier was the UNS _James Lovell,_ a member of the US Navy's next generation of catamaran aircraft carriers. It resembled a 1,200 foot long ice skiff, sheathed in sleek, gray armor from bow to stern. Her black flight deck was boxy but organized, with three large elevators servicing the numerous squadrons housed aboard the mighty vessel, and red, white and yellow stripes and markers for guiding aircraft to their proper positions. Unlike previous carrier designs, her island was not bulky and covered in antenna and radar, but instead resembled an elegant tower, slightly swept back as though the wind was pushing it back like a plastic and steel tree in the wind.

Usually, the _Lovell_ would be loaded with munitions and squadrons of F/A-22C Raptors (The Joint Strike Fighter Program, in light of Second Impact, had been canceled in favor of producing a naval version of the fearsome US Air Force attack fighter). For this mission, however, her airwing was reduced to two helicopters, four Raptors… And Eva 04.

The captain, while usually a reasonable woman, was not enthused about _this._

"Let me get this straight, Colonel, just once more" she began to Misato, the two of them standing in the _Lovell's _cool, glowing CIC. The NERV Operations officer stood on one side of a circular holographic planning table, while numerous crewmembers worked at computer terminals arranged in an amphitheatre style wrapped around them. Misato blinked and looked up from the tiny holograms of the _Lovell,_ Unit 02 descending from an umbilical cord and crane assembly attached to said hologram, and Unit 04 with a small group of F/A-22C Raptors circling overheard.

"Yes?"

"If the Eva," the captain pointed at the comparatively sketchy hologram of the crashed transport plane and it's cargo on the bottom of a small trench near the southern tip of Okinawa's main island, "has been infiltrated by an Angel, we'll only have _two_ Evangelions and _maybe_ a twentieth of our airwing to deal with it." Misato frowned.

"Well… If it is an Angel, Asuka can probably…" The purple-haired colonel noticed the water pressure mounting on the D-Type survival suit. Doing some quick calculations in her head… Uh oh.

"Probably…?" Prompted the captain.

_Probably be tipped over onto her back and not be able to get back up again,_ Misato thought. She spoke:

"Asuka and Andrew's Evas have been equipped with our latest weapons, designed to pierce through an Angel's AT Field with specially designed, depleted uranium rounds," the colonel continued. The captain frowned.

"Last I checked, only a berserker Evangelion or a positron rifle could do that."

"Well, we've found that by detonating a powerful fission charge within a warhead of slightly-charged LCL," Misato began, "that it produces a very, _very_ small AT-Field of a different modulation than that used by Angels and Evangelions. The guns our Evas are equipped with use these new rounds. Our testing so far has been very promising."

"How promising?"

"Well… The sims say that it'll pierce an Angel's AT Field. How much damage it'll do though…" Misato shrugged. "It varies from Angel to Angel." The captain rolled her eyes.

"Perfect. I _love_ going into combat with more unknowns than quantified facts." The colonel glared.

"Hey! It's the best we've got, _sir!_ Our pilots are not going to let that Angel get out of here without a fight." The captain nodded with a sigh.

"At ease, Colonel. I wasn't attacking you _or_ your pilots. But you have to admit that this is an awkward position to be in." The captain sighed heavily, crossing her arms over her uniformed chest and brushing some of her short black hair out of her eyes. The colonel nodded.

"It's always an awkward position for us to be in, sir. We're the good guys," Misato noted, smiling a bit cheekily. The captain smiled in equal jest, as the icon of Unit 02 approached the ocean floor nearly a mile below.

"Fair enough, Colonel."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"_Coming up on the wreck now,"_ Asuka reported over the radio. The view from the D-Type suit's cameras showed something different from the endless black that the searchlights had been seeing for the past half-hour. Andrew scrutinized the image in his holowindow link to Unit 02, and nodded, quickly checking another window with schematics of the heavy transport plane displayed.

"That's it. Looks like you're coming up on the starboard engines."

"_How did it hold together so well anyway?"_ Asuka asked, using the small propeller thrusters to move closer, the mile-plus long umbilical cord trailing above and behind her like a string for a marionette. Andrew frowned.

"Looks like the helium cells in the wings emptied before she reached crush depth. The crew reports that they lost containment just before they went down and punched out…"

"_So, no helium, no explosive reaction to the intense pressure crushing open the cells," _Asuka surmised. Andrew nodded.

"Weird though… The last thing I'd expect to happen to a VT-377 is loss of helium pressure."

"_It's a blimp slash aircraft. How is it springing a leak unusual?"_ Asuka asked with a snort. Andrew checked on the schematics again, at the same time recalling a few of his training flights that involved escorting this type of heavy lift aircraft.

"Well, one reason they're so expensive is that the polymers making up their airframes are among the strongest in the world-Fifteen times the endurance of steel, and a tenth the weight." Andrew eyed the view from Unit 02's cameras, noting that the hull of the aircraft so far appeared relatively undamaged. There weren't even any distortions from the intense pressure the hull had to be under.

"_HSP-42. Same stuff our outer armor plating is made of,"_ Asuka replied matter of factly. Andrew nodded.

"Yeah, only our layer's much thicker." Andrew closed his eyes and switched his perspective to that of his Eva's. The radar returns were translated into his brain through the synchronization link as an unusual mix of feeling and sound. Still maintaining a steady altitude of Angels One, the flight of F/A-22Cs two thousand feet above circling like hawks on desert thermals, the carrier and her escorts (a mix of aging _Arleigh Burke-_class destroyers and the new _Zumwalt-_class destroyers) on the sea level far below.

"_So how is this plane in one piece? The Eva wasn't powered up," _Asuka pointed out, maneuvering lower towards the central fuselage. Andrew grimaced.

"Hold on. Don't go any further, Asuka…"

"_Relax, Captain. I've got my gun."_ The cameras show the weapon in question, resembling a boxy metal snake that coiled around Unit 02's arm at right angles. At the head was a single barrel that could have been mistaken for a silencer, but it's true purpose was much more ingenious. It created a small bubble of gas for the rounds fired from the gun to travel in, extending the gun's range underwater by a significant amount. Significant underwater, however, translated to point-blank range above water instead of knife-fighting distance. An improvement to be sure, but if Asuka couldn't pull the trigger fast enough with the bulky suit hampering her Eva's movements…

"Asuka, back way off. I'd prefer to nuke the crash site and soften things up for you," Andrew ordered. Asuka opened a holowindow directly to him with her infamous smirk in place.

"_Awwww… You're concerned for me, Captain? How cute. Sir,"_ she tacked on absently. Andrew rolled his eyes.

"Master Sergeant Sorhyu. Unless you'd like to spend the next month in the stockade…?" He left it at that, but Asuka snorted and got the message, reversing course.

"_Special Technique: Underwater Surprise Attack!"_ Crowed a voice over the radio, just before the camera feed from Asuka's suit shook from an impact.

"_GAH! WHAT THE SCHEIST!"_ Asuka shrieked, just before the holowindows connected to Unit 02 vanished from Andrew's cockpit. The Evangelion's sensors went crazy, _BLUE PATTERN DETECTED_ bursting forth from every angle.

"Asuka! Asuka! Unit 02! Zero Two, respond!" Andrew tried.

"_It's no good, Andrew!"_ Misato's voice broke over the radio. "_Looks like the Angel cut her umbilical cord!"_ Andrew bit his lip. Without the cord, Asuka would be down to emergency power, and without her direct link to the _Lovell's_ communications array she'd be completely cut off. Without a constant stream of energy from the ship's reactors, Unit 02 would be unable to move, unless Asuka wanted to risk running out of power and freezing to death.

Assuming that she was still alive.

"Sonar?"

"_It says she's still there and in one piece, settled on the seafloor. If she goes right into emergency power saving mode she's got a few hours. The Angel's coming up fast-"_ Andrew saw the form of Evangelion Unit 06 emerge from the water, leaping up like a dolphin over three hundred feet into the air. It then came down… Landing _on the water_ as through the surface of the ocean were solid ground.

"_Talon, this is CAG,"_ the leader of the flight of Raptors overhead called out, using Andrew's traditional callsign. "_Any thoughts on what to do about this?"_ Andrew dove to a lower altitude, intending to get closer to the rogue Eva and observe it. It continued to stand on the water, in a rather unusual stance. It switched to another, then another, its black skin decorated with red and green _kanji_ symbols…

_He's posing? Posturing?_ The moves seemed familiar to Andrew. Wildly exaggerated versions of martial arts stances he'd seen in moves and anime.

"CAG, Talon. Maintain altitude and ES. Unless I can neutralize this thing's AT Field, your weapons won't do squat. For the moment, I advise you to pretend to not be there." They'd lost enough good men and women to these Angels already. Best to limit potential casualties as much as possible.

The Angel looked up and seemed to notice Unit 04, gradually moving closer and closer. The same voice from before laughed over the radio in twisted, youthful glee.

"_Ah ha! There you are, Talon! I was hoping they'd send you here!"_ Andrew grimaced. _What is it with these Angels and knowing me? Did I piss them off by not praying enough?_

"_Oh, don't bother trying to remember me. Oops! You can't, can you?"_ The parody of a human being laughed mockingly. Andrew drew still closer, the safety on his rifle long undone.

"_So silent… Yes, I remember that about you. The perfect soldier. I must say, I've always wanted to ask why you never used a Gundam in combat against us,"_ the Angel went on. Andrew's frown grew deeper. _Gundam? What the hell is he on about?_

It didn't matter, Andrew decided. _Point, aim, pull the trigger._ The MC-345 mecha issue rifle spoke with the near-deafening whine of a thousand hornet nests. There were no tracers, no smoke as the weapon fired, bright blue bursts of fire erupting from where the rounds hit the Angel's AT Field. Andrew used the radar to probe the weapon's effectiveness, and half wished he hadn't-The fission initiators had lit the LCL up into tiny energy bubbles that resembled AT-Fields, but were only pushing against the Angel's shield, not breaking through.

"_Interesting toy, Talon! Here's a few of mine!"_ The Angel cackled. The radar was filled with hundreds of tiny metal projectiles. Andrew threw up his own AT Field just in time, able to "see" that the weapons launched and now bouncing back from his barrier were small, circular… And bladed.

_Shuriken?_

"_SPECIAL TECHNIQUE-AT FIELD BREAKING BARRAGE!"_ The Angel shrieked over the radio, giving Andrew a headache through the radar. The Angel _moved_, appearing in front of Unit 04 in an instant before launching a furious, insanely fast attack. Hundreds of times in a second the rogue Eva's fists, feet, knees, and head met the AT Field, the barrier vibrating badly against the onslaught. Andrew moved back, forced to keep the AT Field shifting around himself to prevent any breakthroughs as the Angel began striking from al sides-

_WHAM._

Unit 04 had caught a blow right in the jaw, before catching ten more in the chest, stomach, and groin. Andrew screamed in pain as he lost control of the Eva, the Angel grabbing Unit Four's wings and swinging him around effortlessly, hanging in midair.

"_SPECIAL TECHNIQUE-EVA SMACKDOWN THROW!"_ The Angel bellowed, letting the Eva fly at near-supersonic speeds down to the ocean's surface. Unit Four smacked into the water with a thunderclap of noise that deafened the deck crew aboard the _Lovell,_ nearly a mile away. The white Eva sunk, slowing down as it descended into the water.

Andrew himself was stunned. He struggled against the pain of the impact, the dull numbness filling his body, but no matter how hard Andrew tried, his body would not move.

_Pressure damage,_ he noted vaguely, feeling blood across his tongue as it seeped out into the LCL. _Why didn't the buffer…?_

It didn't matter. The American tried to move again, his eyes crosseyed. He groaned incoherently as he felt a few of his bones move in ways nature had never intended. His most optimistic assessment was that ten of his ribs were broken. Judging by the pain in his wrists, ankles and ears he had to conclude that several of his more delicate bones had broken as well. Internal bleeding was a distinct possibility…

_**Well sheesh, you're a regular ray of sunshine, aren't you?**_

Andrew managed a blink.

_Huh?_

**_Ouch… As a matter of fact, you _are_ bleeding internally. Looks like your spleen, never the most resilient organ to intense impacts and pressure changes._**

_Who the fuck…?_

_**Language, young man. As for who I am… I'm your Eva. That's all you need to know.**_

… _My Eva…?_

**_Your injuries have forced me to synch with you more than usual,_** the voice continued. _**I've** **been trying to speed up your brain activity so that I can assess what's wrong and direct the necessary repair efforts via hormones and so forth. Kind of technical, probably bore you to death…**_

_I'm going insane. I'm dying and my brain has decided to play some last twisted joke on me,_ Andrew decided. The voice chuckled.

_**God, knew you were going to get your mother's sense of humor. Damned if she wasn't dark.**_

_What the…? How do you-?_

**_Don't ask, kid. You don't have time. Your Eva's sinking fast and the asshole Angel ninja is about to start wrecking the fleet._**

_So what can I do about it? I can't move! _

_**Idiot! Who says you have to move to pilot an Eva? You can still think, right?**_

_Yes…?_

_**Then you can still fight!**_

_But how…? He's too fast! I can't keep up!_

**_Look, buddy… You have two options. Sink and die here… Or get up again. Not too much different from every other time you've been knocked down. The thing is, you always, _always_ picked yourself back up when you fell. Always._**

_I know but… How do I fight that which I can't keep up with?_

_**Damnit buddy, didn't you listen to anything in War College! You don't go to your enemy-You have your enemy go to you. You have the power to crush him in one blow.**_

_How?_

**_Just listen, very, _very_ carefully Andrew…_**

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"Fire!" The _James Lovell_ opened up with every state-of-the-art weapon they had on the approaching Angel.

The carrier's tactical lasers struck the rogue Eva first, lighting up its AT Field visibly thanks to the direct feed the weapons had to the _Lovell's_ main fusion drive. High-speed missiles came next, small fusion initiators super-heating and releasing dozens of hypersonic tungsten spheres, blasting away at the Angel and the surrounding area with sufficient kinetic energy to annihilate an entire football stadium. As the Angel continued its relentless approach, the carrier's short-range cannons opened up, pelting the Angel in a hail of caseless poly-ceramic rounds that could rip a B-2 bomber to shreds.

Nothing worked. The Angel continued to walk on the water without a care in the world, it's face twisted into a hideous grin.

"Damnit… Captain, we need to get out of here! Now!" Misato urged the commander of the carrier. The American woman shook her head vehemently.

"We can't let it get any further. It's already taken out two of your Evas with ease-What makes you think it can't do the same to the rest?" Misato gritted her teeth, ignoring the agonized cries in her heart at the apparent loss of two of her children.

"What do you suggest then, _sir?"_ Misato asked with gritted teeth. The captain checked the holodisplay, and Misato followed suit. The _Lovell_'_s_ escorts were running at full speed away from the carrier, as Misato had a terrible thought.

"You're going to overload the fusion reactors," the purple-haired colonel realized. The captain nodded grimly, before turning on the intercom.

"All hands, evacuate immediately. Repeat, begin immediate evacuation, this is not a drill. I would like to say, that it has been an honor and a privilege to serve with you all. I hope you all have full, happy lives to live out. That is all!" The CIC crew blinked, looking a bit confused, some whispering amongst themselves. Misato watched them file out, a few stopping by the captain to say something, but the captain held up her hand and waved them out. The captain turned to Misato when the entire room was empty.

"You too, Colonel. I'm going to stay to enact the self-destruct system."

"Self-destruct?" Misato asked. She didn't think US Navy ships had that kind of thing.

"Not like in _Star Trek. _I'll have to disable the reactor failsafes and do a manual overload," the captain went on, the hologram of the Angel drawing ever closer. Misato gulped.

"Manually? Captain, with all due respect, I didn't plan going out with a bang." The captain looked at the Major curiously.

"What did you have in mind, then, Colonel? Both Evas have been defeated." Misato looked over the holographic display once more, and spied an icon of a munitions ship. The same munitions ship that had delivered the new guns and ammunition to the Evas…

"Is the munitions ship unmanned?" Misato asked. The captain looked up from her computer terminal and nodded.

"Yes, but how would…? The LCL-laced rounds." The captain nodded. "Set them all off at once…"

"And it'll put out a big enough AT-Field pulse to disrupt that of the Angel's. That's probably the only thing letting it walk on the water!" The captain typed rapidly on the computer terminal, the munitions ship icon blinking red as a digital countdown appeared over it. The numbers shrank, even as the Angel drew closer to the carrier. Five… Four… Three… Two…

The munitions ship detonated, a red bubble emerging from the hologram that soon washed over the rest of the fleet. Misato shuddered as she felt something like another presence ghost through her, but without emotion or identity. It was just… _blank._ Dead, even.

The Angel's icon slipped beneath the water, and looked as though it was floundering. The kinetic shockwave from the detonation helped keep the Angel flailing about, rocking the _Lovell _hard enough to nearly cause both women to lose their footing as the deck tilted and groaned underneath them.

"Well, that's bought us some time," the captain noted, shivering slightly in remembrance of the AT Pulse washing over her. She frowned at the hologram once more as the Angel slowly began to rise back up. "But we can't do it again, and we've expended our ordinance…"

"I don't think we'll have to," Misato murmured quietly, as the hologram of Unit 04 reappeared on the screen, flying low towards the Angel.

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_This is the craziest thing I've ever done._ The Eva chortled in the back of his head.

_**Crazier than your fight against the Nineteenth?**_

_Oh yes… _Much _crazier. Please tell me that if I survive this, you won't talk to me anymore?_

_**No promises.**_

_I'm in Hell. I'm dead and this is where the Lord God sent me. Piloting a smartass Evangelion._

_**Oh quit your bitching! You're starting to sound like Ikari the Younger and Whinier!**_

_Hey! Leave him out of this! How would you know anyway, you don't synch with him!_

_**Nope, but I talk to his Eva. Mm, she's quite the fox.**_

… _I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that. Okay, so… Once more… What do I do?_ The Angel was struggling to get back onto the water, its AT-Field flickering in Andrew's Eva-translated senses. The agony from his injuries was being suppressed, but his Eva had admitted he (it?) didn't know how long it would last. The Eva did say he'd stopped the internal bleeding in ways he felt his pilot was better off not knowing, and Andrew hadn't pressed.

_**Focus. I'm right here. Now then… Get angry.**_

_Okay… I'm pissed off at… You, for being a smartass._

_**Good, good, what else? Oh! Bastard King, how he treats his son and subordinates?**_

_Yes, that is _VERY AGGRAVATING…

_**The pain you feel, the loneliness, the frustration with Asuka's bitchiness, Touji's stupidity, and Mana's flirting…**_

_YES! DAMN THEM ALL! … Wait, Mana's what?_

_**FOCUS YOU MORON!**_

_ALLRIGHT ALLRIGHT! _ Unit Six was nearly back upright, it's AT Field beginning to reemerge. _Now or never…_

Captain Andrew J. Stewart felt the anger, the rage he'd been cultivating and repressing. He felt the pain of his injuries, the fury at his failures and faults. Andrew saved his biggest hatred (that of the Commander and the Angels) as the final ingredient, his breathing labored, his eyes wide and his mouth opened in a ferocious snarl.

As the Angel turned to face him, Andrew stretched forth the hand of his Eva, drew his anger taut like a bow, and willed the false messenger to _die…_

He could feel the thunderclap of the AT Field blast as it burst from his Eva, connecting solidly with the Angel-possessed Unit Six like a red tsunami. Andrew could not help but watch in morbid fascination as the Angel's Unit seemed to shatter like glass, blood billowing out of it's body in a massive spray. The Eva's face seemed to be in an expression of shock… Before it fell, broken, into the sea and vanished beneath the waves.

Andrew took a deep, shuddering breath… Before feeling his Eva's wings spread out in an unusually wide fashion.

_Wha… What are you doing?_

**_I can't block out the pain much longer. You're going to be passing out from agony in about three seconds, so I thought you'd like to be able to float. By the way, good job buddy!_**

Precisely one second later, the Sixth Child fell limp, his eyes closed, and his Eva fell into the sea, making a terrific splash. The Unit's broad wings, however, provided just enough displacement to keep him afloat.

About one mile below, Asuka shivered as she felt the distinctive aftershocks of a _huge _AT Field blast. The first one had been big, but not overly oppressive. Just like feeling a uniform pressure on your mind. This one though… It felt almost like Shinji's AT Field when he went Berserker. Such raw rage and fury… Only in this case, Asuka had to admit, there was no bloodlust. This felt like… Like _righteous_ fury. The redhead shivered again.

One unstable male Eva pilot with that kind of power was enough… But two?

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_Next time: The Sixth and Second are debriefed, Touji and Hikari talk, and Mana reflects on her mission._


	18. Chapter 18

_Yay! More reviews! I'm so flattered!_

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"_You can't win," stated the man with long-white hair and blazing orange eyes. "No matter how many of us you defeat, there will always be more. So why continue fighting? No one is watching, cheering you on. No one will remember your names."_

"_Maybe… But not everything's about us," Talon replied smoothly, before he lunged with some kind of-_

_SCHRTZ!_

"_NATE! STOP!" The man turned back and smiled sadly, before the shield went up behind them. Talon pounded on it in futility, screaming again and again as Nate vanished down a dark hallway-_

_SCHRTZ!_

_Nate, Talon, a graceful redheaded woman, a cocky-looking blonde kid, and a strong, dominating black man enter a strange craft through a ramp. Andrew takes the controls, his face lighting up in child-like glee as he lifts off. Next to him, the redheaded woman smiles._

"_Just guide her Andrew-She'll show you the way-WOAH!" The craft dove like a rock, Talon barely pulling it above a dangerous-looking rock formation in a vast desert. Talon gulped and smiled nervously as the other occupants of the craft glared at him._

"_Er, oops. Guess I missed a few-"_

_SCHRTZ!_

"Missed a few what?"

Andrew blinked blearily, a tiled white ceiling coming into focus above him. Training kicks in after a second or two of lethargy, and he quickly assesses the situation.

Sight: Mana's curious face looking at him from the right, in a plain room with a single large window. He can't see anything beyond the drawn curtains.

Smell: Anti-septics, dead flowers.

Hearing: Beeping of machines in time with his heart beat, a few birds muffled by glass beyond.

Touch: Not much, aside from warmth and pressure that seems to be from sheets on top of him.

Taste: Ugh. Feels like he hasn't brushed his teeth in _days…_

"By the way, welcome back to the land of the living," Mana went on, looking amused (and relieved) when Andrew made a face at his current hygiene level.

"What… Happened?"

"Well… You got the hell beaten out of you by the Angel, but went on to kill it nearly at the expense of your life." Mana looked over a clipboard in her lap, shaking her head.

"Ten broken ribs, soft tissue damage to nearly all major organs, a ruptured spleen… Suffice it to say, if you hadn't been surrounded by LCL, you'd be dead. I'd also be Captain, but, well…" Mana shrugged and smiled good-naturedly, allowing Andrew to relax.

"Oh… How long have I-?"

"About a week. Constant LCL treatments, among other things. Dr. Akagi seemed to be having fun," Mana shuddered at that. The executive officer of the Eva pilots then brightened considerably.

"But, looks like you're going to stay awake for longer than a few minutes this time…"

"Uh… Where's everyone?" Okay, he wasn't expecting them to wait at his bedside around the clock…

"Shinji, Asuka and Toji are off training Hikari in Unit 05," Mana soothed. "As per your schedule, I've taken care of your paperwork and the orientation for the new security forces. Unfortunately, the planned testing of Unit 06 for Angel contamination is, er…"

"No longer necessary," Andrew wheezed, wincing a bit. He finally realized that he couldn't feel much because most of his body was numbed by painkillers. _How did I miss that…?_

"Hey, you okay?"

"Just noticing that… I'm all numb." Mana smirked.

"Dear me, Captain, you do go on," she giggled in a faux-Southern accent. Andrew blinked owlishly. Mana mentally groaned, and shook her head while maintaining her smile.

"Look: Just relax. Doc says you'll be back on your feet in a few weeks. We'll try not to kill any Angels during that time." Andrew nodded, leaning back and suddenly breathing hard.

"God… Even nodding is tough to do," he sighed. Mana smiled.

"That'll make the nurses happy then."

"Eh?"

"Did you really try to do paperwork after you ended up in the hospital after the Nineteenth?" Mana asked with a you're-such-a-cute-workaholic smile. Andrew blinked and managed another nod. Mana shook her head.

"Well, none of that this time. You're going to have more than enough to do-"

"Quiet," Andrew ordered with a grimace. He leaned back into his pillows, his eyes closing. Mana blinked. _Eh? _

"You're going to sleep?"

"I would be if you kept quiet," the captain sighed, before falling silent. Mana shook her head, deciding to revise her notes on her fellow pilots that night before crashing herself…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I kept my half of the bargain," Gendo stated flatly, in his traditional posture behind his desk. His visitor smiled in an almost mocking way, her scarlet lips twisted to bare pure white, razor-sharp teeth.

"Unfortunately, Gendo-_sama,"_ his visitor stated in a breathy, seductive voice, "the Sixth did not react as was required for our deal to be valid." Gendo let his glare be known to the woman, the light reflecting off his dark glasses.

"That is not my business. I sent only Unit Four and Unit Two, I agreed to the costs of repairing them-If your agent could not get the specific reaction you desired it is not our concern." The woman narrowed her eyes, which shifted in color from tranquil blue to angry red. Her long silver hair rippled, becoming darker and stormier.

"It _is_ your concern, you _fool._ You gave him _access_ to the one Eva that could go berserk to protect him!"

"If he was unable to fight at one hundred efficiency, your attempt to reveal any sort of hidden power in him would be futile," Gendo replied, cold and dangerous. The woman smirked and shook her head.

"If you cannot accept the terms, then you will never achieve your goal. Your scenario is already worthless."

"Again… Why come to me? And why the interest in the Sixth? His performance against you has not even reached the level of the Third." The woman's smirk vanished.

"If you ask of our interest in the Sixth again, consider yourself an eunuch," she hissed, causing the Commander of NERV to pull back ever so slightly. The smirk returned to her face.

"Well… Nothing we can do now," the woman sighed, shrugging carelessly. "The Sixth will be out of action for weeks… However, the Third might still be of some use." Gendo frowned carefully, thoughtfully. Not out of moral hesitation, but logistical planning.

"Unit Zero One is ready for combat…" The woman shook her head.

"That will not be necessary," she said flatly. A seductive smile emerged on her face. "We need only for you to do one thing…"

The woman told Gendo what to do. The commander did not pause in agreeing to the plan. To his credit, the man who had murdered three billion people without a second thought lost his composure to the woman's wicked laugh… But not long enough.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Next Chapter: Shinji certainly attracts a lot of attention these days…_


	19. Chapter 19

_Note to self: When someone reviews your story and says they'd like to have your babies, it's a good idea to update said story._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rei sat primly in her chair, a glass of water in her hand that she sipped from time to time, always placing it in the exact same place on the table as before. She scanned the crowd passing the café calmly, the very picture of patience.

At last, her face brightened slightly as a bedraggled Shinji came walking up the sidewalk, smiling wearily at her.

"Rei," he greeted warmly. Rei smiled.

"Shinji," she returned, as the Third seemed to collapse in the chair across hers. He sighed in relief at the shade provided by the umbrella over their heads. The sounds of honking cars and people talking and eating permeated the atmosphere, but Shinji had no trouble hearing Rei's statement of:

"You are late." It was said plainly, but Shinji could hear a request for clarification in her voice. Shinji sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Extra training session. It got moved up," he replied. He winced, holding his left shoulder. "God… And I thought training with a sword in Eva was tough."

"Are you injured?" Rei inquired. Shinji shook his head, managing another smile as a waiter approached the table.

"No, just a bit sore…"

"Sir?" Asked the waiter. Shinji turned to Rei, and she nodded.

"Two glasses of ice water and two specials, please," she ordered, the waiter scribbling it down before nodding and walking away. The two sat in companionable silence for a time, before Rei spoke again.

"Shinji… Is there something we should be doing right now?" Shinji blinked.

"Er… What do you mean, Rei-chan?" He asked. Rei hm'd thoughtfully.

"I believe that, while on a date, it is customary to converse. However… I do not know of anything to talk about that we both do not already know." Shinji smiled, feeling a little nervous.

"Um, its okay, Rei. I mean… Isn't the point of a date to, you know… Just be together?" Rei nodded, scarlet eyes peering into his own. Shinji felt a blush on his cheeks, but didn't look away.

"True… And I do enjoy it… However… I am not sure if we are dating correctly." Shinji blinked.

"Is… Is it possible to do it wrong?" Shinji asked, feeling a bit confused. The albino shrugged, mild confusion in her own eyes as well.

"I have considered this issue ever since you asked me out," Rei replied. "Pilot Soryu… Was adamant that a 'date' required several things to be 'successful'." Shinji frowned.

"Well, um… I don't know if Asuka's idea of a date is, you know… What we'd want to do," Shinji replied. He looked back to the restaurant, noting that their food had not yet arrived. Rei frowned.

"True… Still, it is pleasant to simply be with you, Shinji," Rei said once more. Shinji nodded and smiled back.

"Same here."

The two fell silent again, smiling at eachother. Both, however, felt a bit tense with the current situation. The server arrived with vegetarian bowls, and the two proceeded to eat, occasionally commenting on the food.

"Oh for," Asuka groaned, watching from across the street with a pair of binoculars over her eyes. "Those two are _hopeless…"_

Touji sighed, wondering once more _why_ he'd allowed Asuka to drag him with her as she watched Rei and Shinji on their first date. Touji didn't really see _why_ Asuka had encouraged it-Shinji and Rei got on fine. Why try dating like a regular couple when they weren't?

"Seriously Devil Girl, I don't get this obsession of yours over Shinji 'n Rei," he grumbled, leaning against the lightpole near the mailbox Asuka was crouched behind. He ignored the weird looks they got from passerbys, Asuka snorting.

"No one said you had to come, idiot!"

"Well, I didn't think I had a choice!"

"Well fine! If you want to leave, go ahead!" Touji growled.

"No thanks, psycho bitch! I'm not leaving you alone wit those two, you got it?" Asuka turned back and snarled out:

"Then beat it, asshole, if you're so bored!" Touji ground his teeth audibly, but didn't move, as Asuka snorted and went back to watching.

"God, foreign women are so messed up," he muttered. A fist in his gut had him bending over, trying to draw breath.

"Now, do I have to hit you again, or are you going to keep the snide comments to yourself?" Asuka seethed. Touji shook his head, barely avoiding a couple of running, laughing kids, as he straightened up to try and regain his dignity. Asuka went back to watching through the binoculars, seemingly nonchalant.

Within though, she did ask herself why she was so interested in Shinji and Rei's relationship. She'd actually given the doll tips and suggested her to ask Shinji on a date. She had. There they were.

Were she a matchmaker, she'd probably have declared 'mission accomplished!' and let things go on without her interference. If she was _seriously_ interested in Shinji, she'd have taken him before the doll. So what, exactly, _was_ she doing here?

Asuka didn't know… So she kept watching, hoping the answers would reveal themselves eventually.

Unknown to Asuka, another girl was keeping an eye on both Rei and Shinji... And smirked as she read their lips.

"Going to a coffee shop tonight?" She surmised. Her violet glowed with foul intent, before she giggled and turned away, walking down the street.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Great," Misato sighed, leaning back in her chair at Stewart's bedside. The colonel and captain were looking over a variety of documents scattered on the hospital bed, the tables, virtually any available surface. Andrew looked up from his current folder, raising an eyebrow.

"Hm?"

"Hikari's training sessions, so far, haven't been very good," Misato elaborated. "The Commander sent a memo stating that she'd better shape up or there'd be consequences." Andrew bit back a snort-Finally, the man was interested in the training progress of the pilots.

"Allright, let me…" Andrew sifted through a few documents before producing the appropriate one, and leafed through it. "Okay… Her accuracy rating with the pallet rifle is… 9 percent." The captain's expression darkened the further he read.

"Hand to hand skills… Agility… You're right. Not very good, though in all fairness she only started a few weeks ago," Andrew surmised. Misato shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"True, but with the unpredictable nature of the Angels these days, the commander prefers to get her up to speed as soon as possible." Andrew blinked.

"Colonel, it took me _years_ to become proficient in the Eva. Asuka, Rei-They've all had extensive training to fight. Can the commander seriously expect her to become frontline material in only a few weeks?" Misato smirked sardonically.

"He wants miracles on demand, what can I tell you?" The purple-haired woman sighed, expression turning serious again. "Anyway, you should be out in a few days, right? I want you to start training her personally. The other pilots will go back to standard group sims." Andrew nodded.

"Yes sir." Misato's smirk returned, with a sly glint in her eyes.

"Don't take advantage of her, understand?" She winked. She sighed as the Sixth Child only blinked in response.

"Advantage of…? Do you mean, do not train her as hard as I-" Misato groaned.

"No Andrew, no! Look: Just train her, okay? As hard as is reasonably possible. Forget I said anything…" Misato couldn't help but smirk a little at that second to last innuendo. She checked the clock on the wall, and gathered up some notes.

"Allright Andrew, that's enough for today. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Misato left, closing the door of the hospital suite behind her. Andrew resumed looking through paperwork, not noticing the woman staring at him through the room window.

_Damn... He's too injured... But then, I don't think we need him for this,_ she thought to herself.

A smirk came to her lips, the same she wore at the cafe, before she vanished without a trace or sound.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_I know, very short, but I wanted to set up the situation for the next chapter._

_Next time: Mana and Hikari go through an obstacle course, only to find it turn deadly. Asuka and Touji are trapped in a recurring nightmare. Andrew and Ritusko are held captive, while Rei and Shinji face some of their darkest fears. Is it the work of a new Angel? What is it's objective? And can the Eva pilots defeat it without their Evangelions?_

_Plus, an omake where the Evas themselves discuss the love lives of their pilots… And prank call Gendo. R&R! It won't take me a year to update again!_


	20. Chapter 20

_Yes, this is basically an edited version of the original first chapter. So sue me, Hasbro gets away with repainting and renaming their toys and calling them something new._

... _I was just kidding about the sue me part, eh heh...  
_

* * *

The dark office of Commander Gendo Ikari was not a place for the faint of heart. The fate of every last man, woman and child on the planet were gambled with on a daily basis in this very room. By a man so consumed with his own goals, his ultimate desire, that anything remotely resembling sanity had passed on long ago from his thought processes.

At the moment, said madman was slumped over his intimidating desk, looking exhausted, and for some reason craving a Twinkie.

"We cannot keep this up forever, Ikari," Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki opined, sitting across from the commander. While he certainly appeared composed, in reality the older man was just as fatigued as his former student. Years of training, however, allowed Fuyutsuki to hide it better.

"And yet we have little choice," Ikari mumbled. He shook his head and managed to stifle a yawn. "The enemy continues to press us, leaving the scenario under constant revision."

"What scenario?" Scoffed Fuyutsuki. "There hasn't been a scenario since the 17th!"

"We at least can discern patterns, sensei. Which is more than the old men can say," Ikari countered. "These… whatever-they-are… They still obey certain aspects of the prophecies. The old men feel that their work is coming to naught. I say we merely have to adapt."

"And I thought humanity had no where else to go," Fuyutsuki noted dryly. Ikari managed to raise himself up, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"The doctor's work is bringing us closer to our ultimate goal. She will need more of the enemy to finish her research. Until that time… We must press on." Fuyutsuki leaned back slightly, staring up at the ceiling with a haunted look.

"_More!_ How many does she have, anyway!"

The intercom sounded. Gendo hit the appropriate control.

"What is it?"

"_Um, sir, another Child has appeared,"_ the voice over the line reported nervously. Gendo closed his eyes.

"Did this one arrive with their own mecha?"

"_No sir."_

"Does their background check reveal any of the alert protocols?"

"_No sir."_

"… What is their name?"

"_Michael Lazarus Possible, sir."_ Gendo nodded thoughtfully.

"Take him to Dr. Akagi. She will know what to do."

"_Yes sir."_ And the line went dead. Fuyutsuki shook his head.

"And if this one is not an imposter?" Ikari rolled his eyes.

"With a name like that?" Fuytuski considered it.

"… Point taken."

* * *

"… And I've achieved consistent synch ratios of one-hundred and twenty percent. I have a Pulitzer prize, a Noble prize in chemistry, physics, peace and mathematics, my own line of hair care products," Micheal Lazarus Possible went on, citing his _very_ long list of achievements and honors. His appearance, as was the usual in such cases, was drool-worthy to most mortal females; long black hair in a ponytail, muscular built, leather jacket, sunglasses, a bit of stubble. A katana was strapped to his back, and a Kanji-like symbol tattooed to the back of his neck.

Colonel Misato Katsuragi already had a migraine. She nodded, keeping up her blissfully fake smile as she walked this latest attempted infiltration and destruction of NERV down the hallway.

"That really is all very fascinating, Pilot Possible."

"Please, call me Michael," the boy asked in what he obviously thought was a suave tone. Misato ran her fingers over her sidearm.

"Right… Michael… You know your way around, then?" _Despite never being here before._

"I memorized the layout beforehand, not to mention most of the MAGI database," Michael bragged. Misato's hand began to tap her sidearm. _Use me,_ the gun seemed to croon. _You know you want to…_

_And now my gun's talking to me._ The colonel desperately resisted the screaming temptation to just shoot the "pilot" until he was dead. And shoot him more for good measure.

"So then I rescued the orphans and they made me their king," Misato belatedly realized that she was supposed to be paying attention to yet another of Michael's tales of heroism. She kept up her supermodel smile and nodded. _Just a little longer…_

"Hey Misato!"

"Hi!"

"Colonel, sir," Three voices greeteddown the corridor. Misato turned away from the still-babbling Possible and truly smiled.

"Hey guys!" Michael abruptly stopped talking, and looked curiously at the three young men now standing before him. Well, two standing-Shinji was pushing Andrew in his wheelchair while Touji just stood at his side. Michael's gaze settled on the Sixth, and his eyes narrowed.

"Oh! Excuse me," Misato said apologetically. "These would-I mean, _will_ be your fellow pilots. Shinji Ikari, Third Child and pilot of Unit 01. Touji Suzuhara, Fourth Child and pilot of Unit 03. And the Sixth Child-"

"I know who he is," Michael stated smoothly. He then smiled unpleasantly at Andrew, who blinked back quizzically. Michael then frowned and shook his head in disgust.

"God, you're pathetic." Misato, Shinji, and Touji all blinked at Michael. Andrew glowered.

"Explain yourself, Pilot Possible," he ordered.

Michael scowled, and then he smirked.

"My mistake. I'll be seeing you later, _sir,_" he grinned unpleasantly, before shuffling off, tapping the katana strapped to his back menacingly. Misato rolled her eyes and followed, giving the Sixth Child a reassuring look. Shinji stared after her and looked at the Sixth Child.

"What was that all about, Andrew? Er, I mean, Captain?"

Andrew shrugged.

"How can one explain any hostility the Angels show? More than likely psychological warfare."

"Fucking Angels," Touji growled.

"I keep wondering if there were only supposed to be seventeen," Shinji mused, as he, Touji and Andrew headed back down the hall.

"The Angels are probably trying to kill us by annoying us to death," Touji sneered. "Every time, it's another one of those primped, egotistical assholes."

"Don't forget that there have been females as well," Andrew added quietly. Shinji and Touji grimaced.

"Well, on the plus side, at least the females ones are always stacked," Touji noted with a leer. Shinji blushed as Andrew blinked.

"'Stacked'? I've heard the term before, but I am unsure of what it means."

Touji rolled his eyes as Shinji laughed nervously.

"Er, well…"

"She's got big tits, sir," Touji explained. Andrew nodded.

"Oh… I see."

"Anyway Shinji, you cooking tonight?"

Shinji nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, Misato got a cake too for Andrew's return home."

"I still don't see why I have to be in the wheelchair," the captain sighed. "I can walk you guys know."

"Yeah, but the doc says you have to go in the wheelchair, so the wheelchair you go in, Captain Wheels," Touji laughed. Andrew sighed.

"Well, you have all been keeping up with the paperwork while I've been in-act, right?"

Shinji frowned as Touji snorted.

"Why the hell do we have to do that? Ain't it enough to do homework?"

Talon sighed.

"Looks like I know where I'll focus first then," he said.

"After you come home and relax," called out a familiar female voice. Mana smiled at the entrance to the parking lot, shaking her head.

"Seriously sir, you need to learn to relax."

Andrew snorted.

"I would, if certain people learned the importance of paperwork," he replied evenly. Mana waved his concerned away as Touji and Shinji pushed him out onto the pavement.

"Everyone needs a break every now and then, and relax. I've kept them working."

"Worse than the Devil," Touji grumbled, as Shinji laughed a bit.

* * *

"AAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Ritsuko calmly sipped her coffee, reading a magazine at her computer station in the lab, as the screams of "Michael Lazarus Possible" filled the glassed-off examination room. Commander Ikari stepped through the lab's threshold, and suppressed a shudder.

_God, she enjoys this._ The commander listened to the screams for a moment longer.

_Then again, so would I._

"Report." Ritsuko turned around in her chair, and looked boredly at him.

"This one's got the same genetic makeup as all the others. He's been trying to escape using his powers, but our new dampening field's keeping him contained. This way, we can actually study how his brain works when he's utilizing his abilities."

The screams continued as Gendo nodded.

"Exactly how long will it take to unlock its power?" Ritsuko turned back and gestured to the readouts on her holoscreen.

"We need to do a complete analysis. However, I'm confident we can begin testing on a small scale within three weeks." Gendo scowled. Ritsuko held his gaze.

"Take whatever you need to expedite the process," he ordered, turning on his heel and heading out the door. Ritsuko yawned, before hitting a button on her keyboard. The screaming stopped, but "Michael Lazarus Possible's" mouth remained wide open as the TV before him continued to play.

Ritsuko smirked evilly, and regarded the empty DVD case of _The Best of Rob Schneider_. She then stood up, stretched, and walked out the door of the lab, whistling.

Outside, a green-eyed, white-haired woman scowled as she hovered above the NERV dome, undetected by their sensors.

"Fool, you walked right into their trap," she glowered. She sighed. "I suppose we'll need a new plan now…"

She looked thoughtful… Before a smirk lit up her face and she vanished.

* * *

Asuka Langley Soryu eagerly cut into her steak, devouring the beefy slab with reckless abandon. Next to her, Rei Ayanami ate her meal at a more leisurely pace.

"Gott in Himmel, it's sooo good," the Second Child moaned around the meat. "Shinji no baka, good work!"

The Third Child blushed modestly. "Er, it was nothing."

"I too must compliment you on your cooking skills, Shinji," Rei said, indicating the steamed vegetables and curry arrayed before her, and melting pleasantly in her mouth. She gave him one of her small smiles, which he returned happily, before taking a bite out of his own steak.

"God, am I glad about that bonus," Misato sighed, a Yebisu in her hand as she sat at the head of the table. "Having to put up with those freaks is a real hassle."

"You think you've got it bad?" Asuka scoffed. "We're the ones who have to fight them when they're found out!"

"Speaking of which," Mana spoke as she looked across the table. "Captain, you're back to one-hundred percent right?"

The Sixth Child smiled reassuringly at the former spy-turned-pilot of Unit 05. "Yes, I'm fine. And don't call me sir when we're off duty."

"So Captain Perfect, when are we getting upgraded with the flight system? You spoke to Commander Bastard about it, right?" Asuka glared. Hikari, next to her gulped slightly. Handling the Eva was hard enough, but _flying_ it?

"Flight training is still not prepared as of yet," Andrew replied. "However, Mana and I have to go in to regain our flight status certification at the JSSDF base this week. Perhaps we can see if we can get you all signed up."

"Flight recertification?" Shinji asked with a frown. Mana nodded and sipped her drink before replying.

"It means that every six months registered combat pilots with any of the UN forces have to go in and prove we can still fly."

"I didn't know you were a pilot too, Mana," Shinji said with a smile. Mana shrugged.

"Yes, well, it was part of my training with the JSSDF. When _my_ Eva gets a flight system, I'll be able to fly it without any tests," Mana smirked at Asuka, who scowled.

"Hmph! Well Captain Perfect, looks like you and the Witch have _another_ person coming with you two! Someone who was _born_ to be a pilot!"

"Asuka, it's not that simple," Andrew spoke. "You need a minimum of fifty hours training in a simulator before you'll be allowed to fly a real plane."

"Oh c'mon, what are you guys testing on anyway?" Asuka snorted. Rei looked up from her meal next to Shinji.

"I believe they are certified on both the F/A-22 Raptor, and F/A-16ES Viper aircraft."

"_Scheissdreck!_ How the hell does training on those mean you can fly an Eva?!" Asuka demanded. Mana smirked.

"Well, after piloting a high performance fighter aircraft, flying almost anything else gets a _lot_ easier," she smirked, making Asuka roll her eyes.

Andrew cleared his throat.

"Actually, because the Stewart Flight System's computers used F/A-22s as testing platforms. The interface may be neural-based in an Eva, but the system still thinks it's an F/A-22 Raptor squadron. Besides, the Raptors and Vipers both use advanced thrust vectoring, which is emulated by the wings."

"How about this," Misato proposed after taking a deep drag of beer, "we'll make a field trip of it! I mean, the air field's only an hour from NERV. We can all go!"

"Um, Colonel, don't we have school this week?" Hikari asked nervously. Misato laughed.

"Screw school, flying jet fighters is _way_ better!"

"Can I bring Kensuke?" Touji asked. Misato, Asuka, Hikari, and Mana all shot him glares. Even Rei gave him a cold expression.

"Er, okay, no Kensuke," Touji replied awkwardly. He sighed. "But boy is he going to be pissed…"

In Kensuke's apartment…

"Military… Otaku… Senses… TINGLING!" The boy gasped, falling to his knees.

* * *

"Seriously though, Mana and Shinji would make a lovely couple," Unit 05 opined, it's soul somehow that of Mana's mother. Unit 0 snorted.

"Shinji has eyes only for Rei, and that's final!"

"Can't he have both?" Unit 01 asked.

"YUI!" The Evas shouted at her. If she could, Yui would have smiled happily. As an Evangelion however, she could only broadcast an empathic impression of her smiling through her AT Field.

"What? Polygamy is completely legal in this day and age! And I know my Shinji is man enough to handle _many_ brides!"

"Katsuragi already cuddles with him at night with Rei," Unit 0 dutifully reported. Her soul was originally a Dummy Plug of Rei, but had been modified based on the readings they'd archived from Unit 0 before it was hijacked by the Twentieth Angel. This had also been combined with empathic readings from Units 1 and 2. As a result, the Eva now how a strong maternal connection to Rei without Naoko's madness.

"Still don't know why any of you aren't considering my son," Unit 4 grunted. "He's a fighter pilot, looks good in uniform..."

"True, but Asuka and Rei are both crazy about Shinji, not to mention they have a far deeper connection," Unit 2 countered.

"Kimiko, don't you have any thoughts on your brother's love life?" Unit 1 asked. Unit 3 snorted.

"Screw his love life! When I get out of here, I'm hooking up with Shinji! I want to be part of his harem!"

"WAH! MY SON IS SO MANLY!" Yui cheered, as the rest of the Evas (aside from Unit 2 and 0) sighed in disbelief.

* * *

_Sorry for this crappy chapter that isn't anything like the preview, but it's better than no update right? Anyway, I hope to finish this thing within the next three chapters at most. Sorry again for the long gap. Next chapter should make up for it with lots of cool air to air battles where Andrew is NOT the hero (gasp!). _


	21. Chapter 21

_Okay, here's the deal. I want this story done, so I'm going to add in the story of their visit to the base at a later time. This chapter and the one to follow, however, will definitely end the fic for all intents and purposes. Yes, I'm sure you're all depressed about that._

_- - - - - - -_

Here was death made real, he thought. He ran a hand through the red liquid, his green eyes dull in numb reflection. He scooped up some of the liquid into his hands, watching rivulets scurrying down the sides, leaving trails of wobbly red pearls.

He sipped at the red liquid… And spat it out, shuddering at the iron bitterness now coating his mouth. He felt a part of him struggle to get his legs working, get him away from this sea of death…

He still stared out over the ocean of the dead, to the single wide, visible eye that stared back. The cloudless sky, filled with lightly glowing stars.

_I am Captain Andrew J. Stewart, Sixth Child… I have failed._

After that, he thought no more. His mind was a blank void. His will left.

He was in a world of death, after all. Best to keep it that way.

- - - - - - -

The boy didn't recognize her. He didn't seem to recognize anything, really. Mana Kirishima kept coming back into the house, to the bedroom, hoping to see the American boy moving, speaking… _anything._

Andrew was just as still as he was when she found him. Clad in his plugsuit, leaning against a stone, sitting in a small beach pool. His gaze was permanently fixed to the west, his unblinking eyes as dead as those of the gigantic Rei Ayanami corpse.

Mana had seen him fall against the MP Evas. She'd been fighting alongside him, desperately defending NERV against the UN's onslaught. Her contacts in the JSSDF had been neutralized. She had lost all ties to the military to try and keep the assault from occurring.

She had failed. And now, everyone was going to pay the price.

She just hadn't known that everyone meant, literally, _everyone_.

Mana stirred the pot of soup bubbling on the stovetop slowly, clockwise, the hot contents always in her peripheral vision. She hadn't known whose house it had been, and she really didn't care. She couldn't bear to look at the family photos, so she'd turned them over or tossed them out. The sight of happiness, in this place, here?

She had a vision of just coming across such a picture, and she'd start screaming. And wouldn't be able to stop.

Mana checked the kitchen timer, and pulled the pot off the range. Carefully she poured some into a bowl, which she in turn placed on a plate in a nest of crackers and rice balls. She carried it to the bedroom, the training drilled into her keeping every drop in the bowl without pause or hesitation.

Mana bit her lower lip, seeing that Andrew still just stared. The hope stayed at the same level every time, only to be dashed and then be reborn once more. An endless cycle.

She placed the soup bowl on the nightstand by his bed, and dipped a spoon into the broth. She carefully maneuvered it to Andrew's mouth, slipping it in between his unmoving lips. She was relieved that he could still swallow, as she doubted very much that she could handle inserting a feeding tube into his belly.

The soup slowly disappeared, as she ate the crackers and rice. The meal complete, she crawled up next to him under the covers and curled up to the warm body. She pushed her face against his chest, hiding under the blankets like she used to do as a child. Mana couldn't bear to sleep by herself. Even if Andrew remained like this, she needed to know that there was someone else in this world. This supposed New Genesis.

_Great… A lifeless new beginning. _Mana remembered being killed, just after Andrew was. Asuka had been killed as well, along with Toji, Misato, Hikari… Everyone, before Third Impact finished the job.

Except Shinji.

_Was this the world you chose for us, Shinji?_ She wondered, not sure how she knew that Shinji had gained control of Third Impact, only knowing that she did. She snorted under her breath. _Some new Eden. Hope you're happy… Or miserable. Hope you got what you wanted._

It seemed so sick that an event designed to give all humans exactly what they wanted had failed in her case. It seemed like proof that Third Impact wasn't an act of God.

Just a poor substitute made by man.

_His wings pressed back against his back, Andrew dove, Unit Four responding to his movements as though it was his true body. Two of the mass-production version Evas followed, attempting to get close enough to strike him with their massive blades._

"_Unit Four, Fox One-Two," he muttered out of habit. The shoulder blades of his Eva opened, revealing a heavy armament of large, air-to-air missiles. The shoulder blades of each Eva had been given a special weapons upgrade, unique to each biomech. In Andrew's case, since he had been trained in the US Air Force, Unit Four was given a full compliment of AIM-120 SLAMMR missiles, all with enhanced warheads and AT Field sensors. Two of the missiles launched, bursting from the shoulder compartments and looping around, locking onto the pursuing Evas._

_The white Eva tried to evade, but their wings were optimized for gliding and not maneuverability. The missiles struck them both in the head, erupting in fire and gore. Andrew nimbly looped around, locked on with two more missiles, and fired them as well._

"_Unit Four, Fox One-Two," he repeated. These missiles too hit with deadly accuracy, blowing right through the chests of the MP Evas and sending them spiraling to the ground. _

"_Splash two Harpies! Asuka, Mana, Toji! Report!"_

"_No problems here!" Asuka shouted, the spirit of her mother flowing through her as she decapitated yet another MP Eva with their own heavy blade. She grinned ferally as another of the white Evas charged her from behind, and with a modified leg sweep she cut its feet out from under it, sending it crashing to the ground with a roar._

"_I'm keeping the air support down… For now," Toji stated, continuing to fire his positron rifle at the JSSDF aircraft still trying to close to firing range. "I've got radiological alarms, man-They're definitely trying to get an N2 mine on us."_

"_Mana, stand by to deploy your AT Field. I'm going to try and cut down our vampire problem," Andrew ordered. _

"_Roger that!" Mana responded, as she wiped out another tank platoon with an AT field burst. Andrew chewed his lower lip._

"_Maya, got any news on Rei and Shinji?" The radio crackled._

"_Nothing yet, Andrew. We've lost all internal radio traffic. We're on backup power as it is," the tech reported over the sounds of gunfire. "And we're pinned down here by the assault troops!"_

_Andrew cursed under his breath. "We can handle the forces out here for now, but mine and Mana's Evas are the only ones with an S2 engine." He paused to launch another pair of missiles set to proximity detonation. Three JSSDF attack bombers were hit, all three now losing altitude. "Any word on reinforcements?"_

"_We've contacted the US Navy and officially requested assistance, but the jamming started before we could get a response," Maya informed him, incredibly calm despite the screams and shots in the background. Andrew nodded, knowing that Maya couldn't see him, but still…_

"_Maya, are you the highest ranking officer there?"_

"_Yes. We can't find the sub-commander, commander, or Colonel Misato!" There was a pause and the loud sound of automatic weapons fire. Andrew found himself praying to God, or any deity willing to listen, that Maya was still alive… _

"_We're keeping them down, but they keep coming!" Maya finally responded, and Andrew felt a strange mix of relief and panic. Maya was a lieutenant. Andrew was a captain._

"_Allright then. I'm officially taking command of NERV, in the absence of any higher-ranking officers," he responded, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "Destroy the control center consoles and lock out the MAGI. Pull back everyone to Central Dogma, have any remaining Section 2 operatives cover the retreat. Maya, start flooding all of the sections you can with bakelite, occupied by enemy forces or on the way to CD, got it?"_

"_Un-Understood," Maya responded shakily. "Should I engage the base self-destruct?"_

"_No, but hold it in reserve," Andrew ordered. "Can you control it remotely?"_

"_Yes! Hang on…" Maya started shouting something over a lull in gunfire, and the sound of moving air was heard faintly. "We're pulling back."_

"_Roger that. Now, when you get all remaining personnel to Central Dogma, close the doors. Only an Eva could get through those things and we're taking care of them. You might want to get everyone under the LCL down there, so they can't choke or poison you, understand? But it'll be up to you. You're in charge."_

"_Yes sir," Maya responded, much more firmly than he think he could have managed were their positions reversed. "I'm going to have to cut off contact now. Good luck, captain."_

"_Good luck," he returned, as the link went dead. Andrew vaguely noted that his AT-Field had been taking fire for a minute now. Every missile fired at Unit 04 was deflected by the energy shield. Andrew quickly checked over his readouts on his fellow Evas-They were all still fighting and holding their own. Just like they'd been trained._

"_Unit Four, Fox One-two," he repeated, sending another pair of missiles against the JSSDF air forces. He tracked their progress, using his AT Field to block and attract their attacks to him, and not on NERV. His eyes widened when one of his missiles abruptly overheated and exploded some distance from their target. The other followed suit. _

"_What the-?" A nudge to his brain made him call up a view of a JSSDF aircraft flying higher than the rest, a strange-turret on its underbelly. His eyes narrowed at the sensor readings of ozone registering from it._

"_Airborne laser," he muttered, gaining altitude himself. His AT-field flashed several times, the laser blasts attempting to get through. Unit Four's massive but elegantly designed wings flapped, riding the thermals and closing the Eva's range with the enemy aircraft. He could only imagine what was going on through the crew's minds as they saw that he wasn't firing weapons or changing direction…_

_He put that out of his mind as he used his AT field to ram the plane, blasting it apart. He dove like a falcon on the now-unprotected JSSDF aircraft formations, his wings tucked tightly against his body. He plowed through them, his AT-Field and the Eva's sheer kinetic energy shattering the fragile attack craft like a rock shatters glass figurines. _

_Their weapons were ineffective. Their evasion futile. Andrew allowed himself a grim smile._

"_This is Unit Four to JSSDF units. Withdraw immediately. You are no match for our forces." The response came seconds later:_

"_We are taking your base as we speak. Your support is gone. You are out of weapons. You will surrender immediately or be destroyed!" Andrew shook his head._

"_We are fully capable of moving out from NERV and laying waste to the rest of Japan, sir. And your trump card, the MP Evas, have all been defeated. Withdraw peacefully and no more harm will-"_ _His proximity sensors screamed. He turned and saw the two MP Evas he'd shot down before approach. He shook his head, eyes widening._

"_No way… Unit Four, Fox One-!" He belatedly realized that the proximity alert was not from the MP Evas themselves, but from their bladed weapons, which they had thrown. They collided with his AT Field, vibrating and pushing against it even as Andrew pushed back his will._

"_Grrr…!" The blades twisted and deformed, assuming a familiar shape. Too late Andrew realized what they are, as the Lances of Longinuss shattered his AT Field and rammed through his Eva's chest._

_The pain made him want to scream, scream until he ran out of breath… But he couldn't. He looked down in mounting, silent horror at the blood pouring from his own chest. The alarms sounded around him, as he felt his Eva begin to falter. The MP Evas rushed him, kicking in unison and sending him spiraling for the ground. His wings flapped feebly, but had no pilot to control them. The ground approached steadily, but Andrew could only see the sky slip away above him._

Andrew… My son… I'm sorry…_ A voice said in the back of his mind, before Andrew was swallowed up in darkness._

Mana wondered who was screaming over the radio at Andrew, yelling at him to pull up, pull up. When Unit Four hit the ground, her sore throat made it clear who had been shrieking.

"_Mana, look out!" _Touji shouted over the radio, and the Seventh Child managed to react, barely evading a killing blow courtesy of an MP Eva she thought she had killed. She lashed out with her prog knife again, but the Eva blocked the blow and body slammed Unit Five, sending the metallic blue Eva crashing into the Geofront's forest. Mana grimaced.

"C'mon damnit… Move… MOVE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" She screamed, forcing the Eva to its feet and lunge for the approaching MP Eva. She slashed her prog knife blindly, rage guiding her strikes alone. Mana didn't care about her vulnerable position, or about her sloppy attack. The mantra _hurt them hurt them hurt them_ repeated in her mind, the blood of the white Eva below her urging her further.

Mana became aware that the AT Field of the enemy Eva was no longer registering through the cockpit's 'blue pattern alert'. She looked down at the ragged, blood-dripping remains before her and blinked.

"_GODDAMNIT KIRISHIMA! RESPOND YOU STUPID BITCH! RESPOND!"_ Asuka roared over the radio. Mana shook her head free of distraction.

"Asuka?"

"_I'M GETTING SWARMED! GET OVER HERE!"_ Mana turned and saw in rising horror that the white MP Evas were attacking Asuka like a flock of birds, lunging and biting at her. For every Eva Asuka took out, another attacked her from another angle. Mana ran, charging the nearest MP Eva with her prog knife out. She screamed something as a battle cry as she covered the last hundred yards…

To find herself knocked back, her mind filled with buzzing. Mana felt her balance become problematic, and her head feel light. She looked up, seeing the MP Eva she was targeting turn away, and resume attacking Asuka. She couldn't hear anything, aside from a heartbeat that was slowing down.

She looked at her Eva's chest, and blinked owlishly. A long line ran down the middle of her Eva. She saw the same line bisecting her own body. A moment later, the Eva and Mana began to split, red bands expanding from the lines. The girl suddenly realized… Suddenly understood why the MP Eva had turned away.

"AAAAUUUUUGGGHHHHH!"

Mana tore the covers off her body, gasping for breath with wild eyes and mussed hair. She threw the sheets and blanket off the bed, reassuringly running her hands over her legs and stomach. The former Seventh Child took deep breaths, focusing on calming herself down.

_I'm not dead… I'm not dead…_

She blinked, noting the lack of warmth next to her, and she turned her head. Andrew was gone.

"Andrew? Andrew!" Mana called out, rising from the bed and dashing out the door, panic billowing up into her chest like smoke from a fire, threatening to choke her.

_Where did he go?! Why would he leave?! I can't-!_

She had barged through the front door, out into the silent world. Mana skidded to a halt, staring in disbelief at the sight before her.

A boy stood stood in front of her, smiling gently. Before him on the ground lay Andrew, eyes closed for once. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully.

"Hello Mana," the boy greeted, his grey hair waving in the breeze as his red eyes seemed to glow. "It's good to see you again."

Mana could only gape.

"Who the hell are you?!" She demanded, her gun out and pointed at the intruder in an instant. The boy merely kept smiling.

"Who am I? Well, you could call me Tabris… But I must admit I like Kaworu. Either works."

"The Seventeenth Angel?" Mana growled. "You're dead!"

"So were you," Kaworu replied. Mana fired a single round, and it bounced off his AT Field. Mana grit her teeth.

"Damnit…"

"Mana, I'm not here to harm you," Kaworu soothed. "As a matter of fact, I wanted to thank you, on behalf of the Almighty."

"The… Who?" Mana blinked. Kaworu seemed amused.

"The Almight. Yahweh. God. The Alpha and the Omega. Any of those work."

"G-God?"

"Yes. He's been… Absent, for the past fifteen years but He's now back. Thanks to the actions of all the Eva pilots, but mostly… Thanks to Shinji."

Mana blinked.

"Shinji? Shinji Ikari?"

Kaworu sighed.

"Oh yes, sorry about that, I imagine the events you went through have messed with your minds. But I believe it will be better for Him to explain it to you Himself."

"Himself?" Mana asked again, feeling numb. Everything that had happened… She felt so close to just kind of shutting down and falling over.

"Hello Mana," said another voice behind her, and the girl spun around, gun trained on the new interloper. She felt her fingers loosen as the gun fellt from her grasp. The girl just stared.

PenPen waved a flipper happily at her, opening a beer can. Shinji stood next to him, smiling at the dumbstruck girl.

"Want some? It's good beer, if I do say so myself," Penpen asked. Shinji smiled nervously, as Mana imagined she didn't look too well.

"Er, Mana…? This is God. God, Mana."

The brunette's eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted. God sighed.

"Poor dear… Bit too many shocks in the last few days. Let's hold off on telling her, um… _Everything,_ until she's had some rest."

"As you wish, Lord," Tabris bowed. Penpen rolled his eyes.

"Enough sucking up Kaworu."

"Sorry Lord."

Shinji just sighed. _How am I going to explain any of this when I barely understand it myself…?_

"Relax Shinji," God/Penpen soothed. "You'll find the words. And then, well… You can take the rest of the day off."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Shinji said sarcastically.

- - - - - - - -

_Keeping with how the canon Eva series ended, this will be somewhat confusing and out of order with lots of flashbacks. But don't worry, it'll be funny. Trust me._

… _I've lost what few readers I had left haven't I? (sob)_


	22. Chapter 22

"So… Wait… Let me get this straight. PenPen is God, Andrew was some kind of Angelic messenger in human form designed to buy more time for God to get his powers back… And the world still ends in a giant explosion?" Asuka Langley Soryu asked, scowling across the conference table. The director looked about the room nervously at the other Evangelion pilots. Andrew sat near the head, scrutinizing a few copies of the script with a frown. Touji sat opposite him, text messaging someone on his cellphone with a bored expression. Mana and Hikari sat on either side of Andrew, staring at him. Rei stared impassively at the director next to a bewildered looking Shinji.

"Er… Well… Yes. That's pretty much it," the director confirmed. Asuka's scowl grew.

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ENDING IS THAT?! THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!"

"I am confused as to why everything in this script must inevitably explode," Rei added in her two cents in her usual monotone. The director sighed.

"Look, more explosions, better trailers for the series. Better trailers for the series, bigger opening audience! That's how it works!"

"And why does it end with Colonel Personality and Kirishima?! It should end with me and Shinji on a beach or something!" Asuka further protested.

"I would like to point out that Captain Soryu was not promoted first to Master Sergeant. She and the other Eva pilots were made officers when I came onboard," Andrew spoke. He coughed and glared.

"Also, there was no where near as much sex and violence as actually happened."

"Oh, what? C'mon, I've read the papers! You yourselves admit to being in relationships! I'm just trying to spice up the series!" The director complained.

"While we are currently involved in romantic relationships, those developed after the JSSDF assault and Commander Ikaru's defeat," Rei said. Shinji coughed.

"Ah, why does it have me… Um…" He blushed heavily. "Having near constant sex with… Um…"

"I too would like to ask why it is necessary to include Shinji becoming one with Commander Katsuragi and Captain Soryu," Rei indicated, frowning. "He would have had more opportunities to become one with myself than those two."

"The hell he would!" Asuka retorted. "If anything, there should be more sex scenes with him and me, instead of you!"

"Oh get bent you two. The Colonel and I should be having the most sex scenes," Mana spoke easily. Andrew choked on his water next to her and coughed hard.

"Kirishima!"

Asuka smirked across the table. "Oh _please!_ He only relearned what sex was a few months ago!"

"Yes, but he was a _very _fast learner, wouldn't you say Hikari-chan?" Mana fairly purred. The Sixth and Eighth Children both turned bright red.

"KIRISHIMA!"

"He actually submitted himself for disciplinary action for having a threesome with us!" Mana went on proudly. Asuka laughed.

"HA! What a loser!"

"It is inappropriate for an officer to sleep with his subordinates," Andrew huffed, crossing his arms. "At least it's _supposed_ to be."

"He's complaining now, but he wasn't before," Kirishima laughed. Andrew twitched. Shinji's cheeks flushed but he offered a sympathetic smile to the American.

"Well, how about this?" the director spoke, trying to get things back on track… Though in truth, all this talk of sexual deviancy was piquing his interest. "I'll just leave you with the scripts, and you make whatever recommendations you feel are appropriate, okay? Because I do have an early meeting…"

"Fine. We'll get back to you later," Andrew stated. Asuka rolled her eyes.

"Just because you're the highest ranking officer-"

"Captain Soryu?"

Asuka blinked.

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"_HEY!_"

The director made good his escape. While he rather enjoyed listening to all this banter, he did really have to head out.

The Eva pilots continued perusing through the various scripts left behind. Rei frowned at Shinji as she held up one.

"Why does he not simply have the plot of the TV series follow what actually happened?"

Shinji heaved a sigh.

"Some people think the original work doesn't compare to their own version…"

"What's not to like?" Asuka broke through with a snort. "We defeat the bad guys with giant robots! We save the world!"

"Technically Shinji and I prevented Third Impact," Rei stated flatly. "Colonel Stewart, Major Kirishima, Lieutenants Horaki and Suzuhara, and you engaged and defeated the JSSDF forces attempting to take NERV."

"HEY! Don't sell us short! Without us, you'd have been killed Wondergirl!" Asuka stated. Rei shrugged, a ghost of a smile on her face.

"I accept this. I was merely pointing out the roles each of us played in SEELE's assault. Collectively, we saved the world."

"Again," Mana added. She scoffed. "You'd think they'd make _that_ the focus rather than all this sex… Just because _you two_ are 'exotic females' doesn't mean they should ignore myself, the Colonel and Hikari-chan!"

"Kirishima," Andrew said warningly. Mana sighed.

"He's in more denial than Shinji was when he first woke up with four women."

"M-Mana!" It was Shinji's turn to spit out some water from the glass. Andrew offered a sympathetic smile, before glaring around the table.

"Look. This series is supposed to present NERV in a good light… For the most part," he allowed. "Let's just try to find a script that sticks to reality best, all right?"

"Fine, fine," Asuka grumbled. "Exactly what was up with that little part at the beginning with Toji and Andrew's mom anyway? They just introduced them, then poof, they vanish."

"They didn't do a whole lot in reality, either, though that wasn't their fault," Andrew indicated. "Just hid from SEELE, attempted to undermine their activities."

"Bad writing, of course. This director's only done cheap knockoffs of other series that only lasted a few episodes on TV," Asuka snorted derisively.

"They apparently performed well on DVD," Rei added. She nodded and held up a script to Shinji. "I particularly like this one."

Shinji read through it… Suffering a mild nosebleed in the process.

"W-W-WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Shinji gawped. "It has you…! Me…! This didn't happen!"

"It could have," Rei offered. Her ghost of a smile was slightly more alive. "In addition, Pilot Soryu remains in a coma for the duration."

"WHAT?! Let me see that!" Asuka snarled, snatching it out of Shinji's hands. She read through, her teeth grinding.

"You little bitch! Of course _you'd_ like it! You get to bang Shinji constantly!"

"It is not perfect," Rei admitted. "It has Colonel Stewart's battle cry as 'Remember Pearl Harbor'!"

"'Remember Pearl Harbor?'" Andrew and Mana repeated in disbelief. Hikari coughed and held up another script.

"This one's pretty good… No sex," she said with a blush.

"How is _that_ good?" Mana grumbled.

The door to the conference room opened, and a smiling Commander Katsuragi entered.

"Hey all, how's it going?"

"Sir," Andrew said, standing up and saluting. Misato saluted back and rolled her eyes.

"At ease Andrew… Sheesh! Lighten up!"

Andrew just sighed and returned his focus to the scripts. Misato looked about the room, eyes resting on Shinji as she smiled.

"So, what's the verdict?"

"Um, well, they're not all bad," Shinji offered. "Just… A lot raunchier than, you know…"

Misato frowned and picked up a script. She skimmed through, eyes widening as she did. She scowled.

"I am _not_ a boy hungry pedophile," she growled, tossing it to the table. She then smirked sexily at Shinji.

"I'm a _man_ hungry pedophile," she purred. Asuka growled.

"Do you _mind?!_ You don't get your turn with him until tonight!" The redhead wrapped her arms around Shinji possessively. Misato pouted.

"Aw, but I'm so _lonely,"_ she sighed. "I really could use one of your backrubs, Shinji-kun…"

Andrew opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it when Hikari and Mana glared at him. He cleared his throat, getting attention back on him.

"We have synch training anyway. I suggest we leave this for later… If ever," he added with a mumble, standing up. The other pilots followed suit, Rei pulling Shinji out of Asuka's embrace. The redhead stuck her tongue out at the albino, which she easily returned.

"All right, everyone come on," Misato grinned. "Sooner we get this sooner, sooner we can get back to what really matters."

"Sex?" Asked Asuka.

"Sex!" Misato exclaimed in triumph, turning and waltzing away. Andrew followed first with a sigh, but stopped at the door, allowing Hikari and Mana to go first. The green-eyed girl winked at him, while the freckled girl blushed and smiled in thanks. He left through it as well, leaving Shinji, Asuka and Rei to follow them out.

"Hey Touji! Come on! We're going!" Asuka barked. Touji nodded, still focused on his cell phone.

"Got it… Be up in a moment."

"Shinji, I was hoping we could play more of Halo 5 when we return home," Rei said. "And after that-"

"Oh no you don't! You got him last night! I deserve more time with him!" Asuka interrupted, hugging Shinji possessively. Shinji blushed but managed a small smile that stayed on his face down the hallway as the two girls bickered.

"You had him most of last week."

"So? I deserve him most for being the best pilot!"

"Your delusions never cease, do they?"

"SHUT UP!"

Touji finished inputting the commands on his cell phone and smirked. He stood up and pocketed the phone, whistling his way out the conference room. With everything he'd gotten out of this meeting more or less sent to Kensuke, they were going to be making a cool mint… And his own girls would be more than happy to 'meet' with him after training.

Yes… Life was good…

- - - - -

_Fine, cheap ending. VERY cheap ending. I apologize. I just wanted this thing done. Period. Of course, if anyone else would like to take up this idea, be my guest. You could probably do it far better than I could._

_Review if you really want to. I expect most of any reviews to be flames anyway. I totally deserve them._


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